Follow MY Footsteps
by St3phP33l
Summary: Vladimir Dracula attended Stokely Grammar School for only a year. In the Summer, Vlad receives a letter, delivered by an owl, with a weirdly accurate address. Follow Vlad through his Hogwarts life in the same year as Harry Potter, where he encounters many struggles, some are the same as almost any other student. Some... not so much... Inspired by 'A Normal Life'.
1. Dear Mr Dracula

**A/N: To those re-reading these chapters because I've updated them, not much has really changed except fixing typos and a couple of extra paragraphs that don't really effect the rest of the story so feel free to skip to chapter 11.**

ooo

 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

 _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Soc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Mr Dracula,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September, you will be joining our Third Year students. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Vlad was confused, to say the least. Firstly, what the hell is a Mugwump and how can it be Supreme? And secondly, he didn't think wizards and witches actually existed, let alone a school for them! To be perfectly honest, the most average part was that an owl delivered it to his bedroom window. It couldn't be real… right?

Vlad decided the only way to get to the bottom of this was to investigate. So he ran down from his tower to see where Zoltan had gotten to.

ooo

As Vlad came stumbling down the stairs he ran directly into Zoltan.

"Master Vlad, what are you doing awake at this hour? You're normally asleep by 8:30. It's nearly 11." Zoltan said in his usual gruff voice.

"There was an owl at my window… And it brought me this." Vlad opened the letter for Zoltan to read. His eyes grew wide. How that was even possible for a stuffed Hellhound, he didn't know.

"You've been accepted by the wizards, Vlad!" Zoltan exclaimed. Hearing the Hellhound's cry the Count zoomed into the room with a grin on his face.

"Did somebody say my Vladdy's been accepted by the wizards?" The Count sounded almost happy, in his own, slightly sadistic way.

"You don't honestly believe there are wizards, Dad?" Vlad was still a bit hesitant, but could see how it might make sense. Vampires and Werewolves exist, why not wizards? Though he still thought it was a stretch. _Come on,_ Vlad thought, _People running around with sticks talking gibberish like "Abra Kadabra"?!_ He found it very difficult to comprehend.

"Of course there are wizards, Vladimir. Were you really naïve enough to think that we were the only creatures on this earth to posses magic? Though, of course, our magic is quite different from that of a wizard, they both come from the same ancestor." Said the Count demeaningly.

"Does this mean I'll be spending almost a _whole year_ without-" Ingrid, who'd been listening for garlic knows how long, said eyeing him with sly smirk, "-Him?" It was apparent that only Vlad could hear the hint of jealousy in her voice.

"It says there's a list of all the things you'll need, Master Vlad." Zoltan cut in before anyone could respond to Ingrid's question.

"Yeah, it's upstairs on my bed I can go grab it." But before Vlad could take more than two steps his dad was back from his room with the list.

"Show off." Ingrid with a sneer before storming away.

Once Ingrid was completely out of earshot Zoltan turned toward the Count, "Master, might I suggest that you hire a tutor for Master Vlad. After all, the other students have been learning for two years and we wouldn't want Vlad to be seen as an imbecile."

"I might not be full Vampire yet but I'm standing right here, I _can_ hear you." Vlad sneered, surprisingly reminiscent of his sister. Though he didn't storm out of the room, he and his sister were very similar sometimes, occasionally they could even work together and get along. Though that was usually a sign of the Apocalypse.

"Yes, yes. A marvellous idea. No son of mine shall never be second best. Unless, he wishes to be…" He paused, clearly trying to to be dramatic. "Disowned."

It didn't have quite the same effect as it did when he was younger. "Oh no! Not again!" Vlad rolled his eyes, "What's that now? The fourth time you've threatened to disown me? Come on Dad, you'd never do it…" Vlad paused for his own dramatic effect. "You love me too much."

"AH!" The Count made a noise that seemed to be crossed between a yell of anguish and a choke of disgust. "I am Count Dracula! I do not love."

Vlad just smirked playfully at his Father as waltzed up the stairs to his tower.

ooo

The Count, as picky as he was, put a lot of stock in finding the right tutor. It had to be an honourable vampire with powerful magic, a description which Vlad couldn't help but scoff at, what his Father meant to say was "evil" not "honourable". But they also had to have sufficient knowledge of Wizarding society and etiquette, and believable make it appear like Vlad was using "wandless" magic. I mean technically Vampiric Magic _was_ wandless, but he can't just go around clicking to make things happen, he has to look as though he's performing the Wizard's Magic. Most of which would not be accomplished by clicking.

Finally, the Count found the perfect tutor, her name was Antoinette Knight. She tutored Vlad in Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts on Monday, Potions on Tuesday, Transfiguration on Wednesday, Astronomy and Herbology on Thursday, and History of Magic and Wizarding culture and etiquette on Friday. Then on the weekend he had time to read over the texts he'd gotten for his minimum of two additional subjects that all third year students elect, Vlad had chosen Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. Additionally, his father also made sure Miss Knight taught his son about the Vampiric Powers he possessed and how to use them during their spare time, as well as some Wizard's Magic that Vlad had deduced was definitely _not_ on the school curriculum.

It hadn't taken Vlad long to get a hang on all his subjects, even though he had two years to catch up on. He managed to finish all they way through the first and second year curriculums with half the summer left to focus on being ready for third year.

Miss Knight was a great teacher, sometimes Vlad even forgot she was a vampire because she was patient and kind when Vlad did't pick up something as quickly as he usually did. He learnt all about the Wizarding World, the War, Hogwarts and it's houses, how he would be considered a "pureblood" and how that would help him in fit in with a lot of the students there. All in all, Vlad was excited.

ooo

The day was finally here! September 1st. The day he had been waiting all summer for. The day he would be getting on a train to take him to Hogwarts!

Antoinette had come to see him off. The Count had wanted to come but Antoinette had suggested otherwise, something about not really blending in. Vlad was thankful for it too, he didn't really feel like being "the new kid with the weirdo dad" on his first day, so he said his farewells to his dad and sister before he had headed to the station with Antoinette.

They had arrived with two minutes to spare, so Vlad gave Antoinette a big hug and whispered a quick thank you before running off to find a spot on the train.

Because of how late Vlad was it took him a while to find a compartment with any room in it. He finally came to one with only three students and a man sleeping in the corner. Vlad opened the sliding door and three pairs of eyes flicked to him.

"Hey, can I sit here?" He asked politely. He looked around the cabin, the three students were made up of two males and one female. The man he in the corner reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite place who, he weirdly kept thinking of his Mother. It was the female who answered for the group.

"Sure! I'm Hermione Granger, and you?" The girl had brown frizzy hair and kind brown eyes.

"Vladimir Dracula. Call me Vlad." He extended his hand to shake hers.

"Vladimir… _Dracula?_ " She questioned. Vlad felt worried for a minute, did she recognise his surname? Was he found out? No, he had to be sure first, the worst thing he could do would be to jump to conclusions.

"Uh yeah. You've read the books, huh?" Justifying that it was the most likely way she had heard of the name.

"Yes! Any connection? I mean, the idea for the story had to come from somewhere right?" She was clearly excited by the discovery.

"Yeah, distantly. My family comes from Romania."

"My brother, Charlie, works with Dragon in Romania! You're new right, what year you going into?" The red haired boy spoke from his seat.

"Third year, and yes, I'm new."

"I'm Ron Weasley, by the way. And this is Harry, Harry Potter." The redhead told him as he made his way to a space to sit.

"Nice to meet you." Said Harry, the other male student.

"And who's this guy then?" Ron asked, Vlad was getting the idea that he may be rather tactless. Though it was just a hunch.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Hermione answered as if the answer should have been obvious.

"She knows everything," Ron said to Vlad, then turns to Harry. "How is it she knows everything?"

"It's on the suitcase Ronald." She sighed.

They laughed and continued on with light conversation for several hours, all the while Professor Lupin was pretending to be asleep in the corner.

 _This new boy,_ Remus thought, _he smells like… Like… Vampire, but a whole lot more powerful, more powerful than any creature or wizard I've come across. This boy is capable of the greatest good, and the most devastating evil._

ooo

Approximately three quarters of the way to Hogwarts (according to Hermione) the train stopped abruptly. The three cognisant passengers of their compartment watched as the windows froze over, the air grow cold, and Ron's drink become a solid lump in a glass bottle.

It wasn't long before the perpetrator responsible for the sudden cold snap appeared.

Dementors.

It was at this moment that Vlad became eternally grateful for Miss Knight's tutelage. When they had covered the British Government, the Judicial System was briefly explained to him. Including Azkaban Prison and it's guards. So while Vlad was aware they could suck out a human soul, he A) should be fine because he's not a criminal, B) isn't strictly human, even though he hasn't come into his full Vampiric Powers yet, and C) do Vampires even have souls?

These three things made Vlad feel almost relaxed in the presence of the Dementor. Well, he would have been if it weren't for the fact that it was literally draining the happiness from the room. It was upon that realisation that Vlad noticed he wasn't really feeling any different to normal. Odd. He'd have to send Miss Knight a letter, perhaps his reaction was normal for someone of Vampiric nature?

After a few moments of contemplation, he saw Harry collapse! Eyes darting to the Dementor, what should he do? He bared his teeth in a silent snarl, but didn't know what to do from there. Would his powers work against Dementors? Could he shove the ghostly looking creature out of the compartment without his hand going straight through it? Before his brain had time to calibrate and think of a plan, the sleeping man in the corner awoke and pushed the Dementor away with a spell.

The man looked at Vlad and the other occupants, only to grab something out of his pocket.

"Here, have some chocolate".


	2. A Hat Inside My Head

After the train pulled in at the station all the students stumbled out. Everyone was still a bit confused and dazed by the appearance of the Dementors. Especially Vlad. He had no idea why the creatures hadn't affected him, they had made everyone in their compartment feel really sad and according to Ron, like he'd never be happy again, Harry had even passed out! But for some unusual reason, Vlad felt as normal as ever, except slightly put out by the creatures.

After the Dementor had disappeared and Professor Lupin handed them all some chocolate, they waited for Harry to wake up. When he did finally get up Lupin handed him some chocolate like he had everyone else.

"Here have this. Don't worry it's chocolate." Harry grabbed the the chocolate and took a small bite.

Vlad's thoughts were interrupted by Ron, and he was suddenly brought back into the carriage he was riding in.

"What house do you reckon you'll get?" The redhead boy looked like he actually was interested in what Vlad had to say.

"Well they all sound like they're pretty ok," Vlad provided truthfully. "What houses are you guys in?"

"Gryffindor." They all answered at the same time.

"Cool, it must be good house if you guys are in it." Vlad said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, it is! But the one house you've gotta watch out for is Slytherin." It was strange, hearing Ron say this, he had thought Slytherin was full of people with loads of ambition, surely there's nothing wrong with that?

Hermione turned to Ron, "Oh come on, Ronald. Not _all_ Slytherins are bad." Though she didn't sound thoroughly convinced of what she was saying.

ooo

Upon arriving at the castle, Vlad was asked by Professor McGonagall to stay in a room beside the Great Hall until everyone had settled in the hall and she came to collect him.

He sat and waited for about half an hour, he had no idea what was going on in the there, all he could hear was cheering then a pause, only for it to start again. Vlad noticed that the cheering had not continued for some minutes, it was then that the Professor walked into the room.

"Mr Dracula, I apologise for the long wait. We had to get through the First Year's sorting ceremony. You will be sorted the same way however due to your special circumstances, we put you last, and you will be personally introduced to the students by The Headmaster." The Professor was stern but Vlad felt as though she would be an excellent teacher.

McGonagall lead him out of the small room through a door that opened right into the Great Hall. Every pair of eyes turned to look at him. He felt excruciatingly small and insignificant being stared down by such a large group of people. He'd never seen so many people all at once in his life, considering his Dad was always leaving him and Ingrid at to go to lavish parties with their mother, and even when they moved to Stokely the school wasn't this big. Then again, Stokely Grammar wasn't trying to fit all of Britain's Wizarding Children into one room.

An old man with long silvery hair was standing behind a lectern at the front of the room. _This must be Headmaster Dumbledore,_ Vlad thought to himself. He seemed to command the room just with his presence. Then the man spoke.

"I'd like you all to extend your warmest welcome to our new transfer student, Vladimir Dracula," He heard a few whispered questions at the sound of name, mostly coming from the table with the blue ties, but it was nothing too overwhelming, maybe his secret was still safe. "He will be joining our Third Year students. I hope you all treat him with the respect you have for all your other peers. Vladimir, if you don't mind." The Headmaster was gesturing toward a stool with a hat resting on it.

Vlad sat down and put the hat on, he suddenly felt a presence push into his mind. He jumped up threw the hat off. "Why was that… that _thing_ trying to get inside my head?!"

He was shaken, all his childhood he'd been told that entering someone's mind without permission was highly offensive. He had also been told that if they were Breathers permission wasn't necessary, but that was beside the point.

Dumbledore was dumbfounded, no student had ever felt the hat before, only someone with a major potential for Mastering Occlumency could, and at such a young age it was unlikely. "It's ok Vladimir, it's only the hat's way of figuring out which house to place you in." Dumbledore said in a soft voice.

"Why would anyone want a _hat_ to look inside your mind to determine what kind of person you are?" Vlad retorted.

"Please Mr Dracula, just sit down and let the hat sort you." This was McGonagall, she placed a hand on Vlad's shoulder and raised her eyebrow at him.

"Fine." he grumbled indignantly.

When the hat was placed back on his head he let it into his mind.

 _Sorry for giving you a scare, child. But my, aren't you interesting. Only someone of great power, such as yourself, could have sensed my presence pushing into their mind. Though the most curious thing I see is, your secret. It's been a long time since a vampire has come though these halls._

 _Oh no!_ Vlad thought, had his secret been found out? Was this stupid hat going to tell everyone?

 _Stupid?_ The hat asked, sounding a bit miffed. _I'm hardly stupid, and to answer your question, no. I won't tell anyone your secret. Though with the right mind anyone should be able to figure it out._

 _Now, on with your sorting. Placing you will be difficult, I admit. You possess traits of all four houses, kind, hardworking, studious, brave, cunning and ambitious. The question is now, which prevails?_

 _Just place me where I belong,_ Vlad thought. _I don't want any preconceived ideas of the houses changing your choice. I just want to fit in._

 _Okay then, if you insist._ Vlad swore he could _hear_ the hat smiling.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted to the hall.

He was welcomed by polite applause from the table of the his far right. Everyone else looked slightly disheartened, and for some reason confused. He stood up and made his way over to the table and sat down on the end of it facing the rest of the hall. He made eye contact with three people on the other side of the hall. Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at him differently to when they had been talking together on the train. They looked almost disgusted, well Hermione just looked sad, but the other two expressions were definitely disgust.

ooo

After Dumbledore finished saying a few words, food appeared on the plates that were previously empty. It looked amazing, better than anything Renfield had ever made.

Once most people had finished eating their meals, Vlad heard a small group of people get up and move to stand opposite him. Vlad looked up, standing in front of him was a small group of boys around his age with one obvious leader. There was a boy with platinum blonde hair (the leader), two boys who seemed to only be there to intimidate with their muscles, one boy with dark skin and hair, he was moderately slim, and one other boy who was lanky with light brown hair.

The leader sat down, and the others followed. "The names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." This boy clearly thought he was important, he didn't really feel like being friendly with someone who thought so highly of themselves, it reminded him too much of home. Vlad new the only way to get this boy to leave him alone was to either insult him, or to act like he didn't care who he was. So Vlad brought up his own façade of self-importance that he usually only used during the rare times his father took him out. Sometimes you need to be an arse to survive.

"So?" Vlad answered looking back at his half finished meal.

"So what's _your_ name?" The boy, Draco, was clearly trying to be polite until he had what he wanted.

"You know who I am." As Vlad spoke Draco became more and more irritated.

"Okay Dracula, you want to play? Lets play. You will answer my questions or I guarantee I will ruin your life here." Vlad smirked, something he normally tried not to do, he had picked it up by copying his sister and dad all the time. You never know when it might come in handy.

"You don't scare me Malfoy, but, just to humour you, I will answer your questions." Vlad felt awful, he wasn't making the best first impression on his house mates, he was't even being himself.

"What's your blood status?" Draco's question triggered a memory from his lessons on wizard society with Antoinette, ' _Only purebloods will ask for your blood status, they're the ones you must be on the good side of. Even though as a vampire you are above them, they don't know you are, you have to keep them believing you're on par with them.'_

"Pureblood."

"Where are you from, not the UK, I'd recognise your surname." Vlad almost sighed with relief, he knew that in the Breather world the name Dracula was known everywhere because of the story written about his father many years ago. Clearly though, the story was not popular, or maybe wasn't even known, in the wizarding world.

"My family comes from Romania, we moved to here a year ago."

"What was with you and the hat earlier?"

"Nothing really, I just don't like the idea of something poking around in my head. Back at home it is considered terribly rude to invade someone else's mind." Vlad answered all of Draco's questions truthfully, not seeing a need to lie about anything thus far.

"Where did you go to school before now? Why did you move to Hogwarts?"

"I didn't, I was homeschooled by a tutor selected by my father. And the reason I came to Hogwarts? Well, as I said before, I only moved to the UK last year, but the school year had already started. Is that all?" Vlad asked with a bored tone, even though he was actually kind of intrigued by what Draco might want to know more of. Chances were though that he was just trying to sus out the weird new kid who threw the Sorting Hat.

"For now." Draco and his gang got up and went back their original places at the table.

ooo

"Hey Draco, do you really think he was telling the truth? I've never heard of anyone who could tell that the Sorting Hat was in their mind until it starts talking." Blaise Zabini asked next to him.

"I don't know Blaise, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Draco responded with a serious tone. He got up, as Dumbledore finished his goodnight speech, with the other students and disappeared into the crowd.


	3. Wandless AND Non-verbal?

Vlad woke up slightly confused by his surroundings. He was in a small four poster bed, with green and silver hangings and coverings. Then it hit him. He was at Hogwarts in the room he would be staying in for the duration of his stay here, and it was the first day of classes. Vlad sat up with a start, all of his roommates were already up and getting ready for the day.

"Sleeping in on the first day, Dracula. Not a great start." His eyes flickered over to Draco who'd been standing by his own bed. Vlad didn't say anything, he thought it best to ignore him.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Perhaps staying silent was not the best way to go when it came to Draco Malfoy, so he spoke up.

"No, I just have nothing to say to someone with their head so far up their own arse they can't see anything." Vlad retorted with a calm demeanour, as if he were just stating a fact. He'd quickly learnt from arguing with Ingrid that being calm was the best way to irritate someone hotheaded.

Draco scoffed, "You better watch out, Dracula. Just because you're Slytherin doesn't mean we won't make your life hell." It was then that Vlad realised that his plan for creating disinterest in himself was going down hill, Draco and his gang would probably keep badgering him forever. He needed to come up with a new plan, and soon. But first he needed to eat, so Vlad simply got up and started getting ready for his first day of school.

ooo

After Vlad enjoyed his wonderfully normal breakfast, something he could never have at home, he walked back down into the dungeons for his first class of the day. Potions.

It was something he had found slightly more difficult to pick up over the summer, but felt fairly confident with his skills. As he walked into the room he noticed that all the tables had two chairs, but only one set of equipment. This confused Vlad, would he have to work with someone else in this class? He'd never made a potion with someone else, what if there was a miscommunication and something went horribly wrong?

Vlad glanced at the clock and noticed that he was late! How had that happened? It didn't take him that long to get there from the Great Hall, did it? Vlad locked eyes with Professor Snape, Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House. The Professor narrowed his eyes at Vlad.

"As a new student, Mr Dracula, I would have thought you'd have come to class with plenty of time to spare. Five points from Slytherin." Snape's voice was cold and analytical. The students in the classroom were gobsmacked, Professor Snape almost never took points from his own house. Especially not for something as small as being a minute being late.

Vlad quickly found the nearest table and sat down, he was alone. Vlad once again caught Snape's attention.

"Mr Dracula, in potions you are required to work with a partner." His words seemed to be dripping with annoyance for the new student.

"I've never had any trouble working by myself before, Sir. Besides, there seems to an odd number of students in the class."

Snape quickly scanned the room, coming to the conclusion that the number was, in fact, odd, he looked down at Vlad. "You may work by yourself, Mr Dracula, but if there is one mishap I will pair you with someone a little more… Confident."

The Professor turned and walked back to the front of the room. "As I was saying before we were interrupted…" Snape's voice droned on and Vlad tuned out, he had already studied the whole text book over the summer so he wouldn't be left behind. He didn't even notice as his eye lids began to droop.

"Mr Dracula! If you're done sleeping during class, it's time to make the Shrinking Solution." Vlad looked up to Professor Snape's eyes to see he was rather angry looking. Not outrightly expressed on his face, but it was definitely there in his black, almost beady eyes. Vlad looked away and reached into his bag. He had prepared a sample of all the potions they would be required to make in class in case he didn't feel up to slaving away over a cauldron all lesson. He pass a vile to his Professor with a small smile on his face.

"Will this do, sir?" Vlad cringed internally, he hadn't intended to sound so sarcastic…

"For now."

ooo

Everyone in the class was shocked, but not as much as the Professor himself. Never had he had a student that blatantly disrespect him by sleeping during his class. To take it even further, the boy had produced a vile of the potion he was to make, so he could _continue sleeping_.

Not only that, but as Snape walked towards his desk at the front of the room he decided to test the boy's solution. By the amounts specified for certain ingredients, the solution should shrink anything it was placed on by half. So Snape brought out his wand, whispered a spell to measure a book on his desk, and wrote it down. He then proceeded to pour a small amount of solution on the book. It shrunk, like expected. He recast the spells to find the book was _exactly_ half the size. He must find out who his teacher was. He was, admittedly, also curious about the boy's surname. _I mean really, Dracula?_ There had to be something behind that. He would have to investigate that further before he confronted the boy.

When it was time to move on to the next class Snape dismissed them. "Everyone may leave," As Vlad went to stand up the Professor spoke again. "Everyone except _you_ , Mr Dracula."

Vlad stayed seated until he was the only student left in the room. "Did I do something wrong, Professor?"

Snape looked at the boy with his coldly analytical eyes. "Not quite. Though, you're very lucky I didn't give a detention for sleeping in my class."

There was a heavy silence that Vlad was almost afraid to break, it was after a few agonising moments that Snape spoke again. "I am, however, curious as to who you were taught by previously. It seems you either have great talent, or an excellent teacher."

"Her name is Antoinette Knight, she tutored me for all the subjects I would be studying here. She _is_ an amazing teacher." Vlad answered with a small smile.

"I take it then, that you did not attend school before Hogwarts?" Snape was becoming more and more curious. This boy appeared to be very bright, and by his answer had never even set foot in a school before now.

"Well, no, actually. Before I went to a Muggle school, in a small town called Stokely." Vlad hated that word, 'Muggle', it made him feel all squirmy inside. It just feels like a word to use to demean other people, like 'Breather'. "But please, if you don't mind not telling anyone about that, I know how my house mates feel about Muggles."

"Mr Dracula, I was under the impression that you came from a powerful _Pureblood_ family. Why would they have sent you to a Muggle school." Snape looked his student, he was an enigma trapped inside the body of a pale thirteen year old boy.

Vlad's eyes hardened into a glare, he knew he shouldn't glare at teachers but he couldn't help it. "You've been talking to Draco." Snape knew that, even though it was worded as a question, it wasn't. Vlad knew.

"He is my godson, of course I talk to him." The glare he was receiving was rather intense, but Snape managed to keep looking the boy in the eye.

Vlad stood up to leave, mumbling about not being able to say anything to anyone and how he was going to be late for Transfiguration.

ooo

When Vlad finally found the transfiguration classroom he walked in and was greeted with a stern look from Professor McGonagall. "You've finally made it, Mr Dracula."

"Sorry I'm late Professor, but I was kept back by Professor Snape. He needed to talk to me about some a private matter." Vlad made his way to the first available seat.

"Considering you were talking with a teacher, I won't dock points. But remember this, Mr Dracula, it's 10 points from your house if you're late again… Now, as I was saying today we will be learning how to transfigure one object in to multiple objects."

Vlad was slowly realising that he may have studied the subjects for this year a little _too_ well. He'd already learnt this from Antoinette, and he didn't want to look like a lazy student again. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep his eyes open, it's just _way too_ boring to listen to a speech on something you've already learnt.

"Mr Dracula, if you have time to sleep in my class you must have already mastered the spell." McGonagall said with her stern gaze. Garlic, what was happening to him? He never fell asleep during the day!

"I can perform the spell if you want professor." Vlad stated in a meek voice, having been caught sleeping in class _again_.

"Go ahead." She passed him the quill the other students were still trying to transfigure.

Vlad grabbed the quill and placed it on the table in front of him. He was slightly nervous about the spell, he hadn't quite mastered hiding it as wandless magic yet, but he'd do his best. He concentrated on the quill, and moved his right hand above the table in a practised motion. All the while he inconspicuously clicked the fingers on his left hand under the table.

The quill transfigured into multiple versions of itself on the table, surprising everyone. 'Where was his wand?' was the general thought being whispered around the room.

"Mr Dracula, if you could see me after class, it would be much appreciated." McGonagall turned away and walked back to the front of the classroom. The rest of the class was looking at him with either awe, or confusion.

ooo

Dumbledore was sitting quietly in his office reading over reports he needed to finalise. He was startled when he saw Minerva's patronus running into his office.

"Albus, come down to my office immediately. It's urgent." The cat relayed then disappeared. Dumbledore picked himself up from his chair and made his way to the fireplace to floo to Minerva's office.

ooo

When class had finished McGonagall took Vlad into her office, sent a patronus to Professor Dumbledore, and sat down.

"Have a seat, Vladimir." She gestured to the seat opposite her. Vlad noticed that she hadn't sat behind her desk, but on a couch near an empty fireplace.

"Vlad is fine, Professor." He relied politely.

"I have sent for Professor Dumbledore, he should be with us shortly. Here, have a biscuit." McGonagall sounded tired, like it had been a long day even though it was still the morning. After what seemed like forever Dumbledore stepped through green flames that had appeared and looked around the office to get some idea of what was important enough to send such a frantic message, but all he could see was Minerva and the new student Vladimir Dracula sitting on the couches before him.

"Minerva, what seems to be the problem?" Dumbledore asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

"Mr Dracula here appears to be able to perform wandless _and_ nonverbal spells. Something only extremely powerful wizards can do."

"And who says _I'm_ not extremely powerful." Vlad said with a frown pout, even though he knew as far as Vampiric magic, he wasn't doing anything outstanding.

"Even if you were, no one, not even Merlin himself could tap into such power at your age." McGonagall looked at Vlad with a calculating stare.

"Mr Dracula, if you wouldn't mind, could you please step out the room for a minute or two?" Professor Dumbledore asked from his place near the empty fireplace. Vlad knew this wasn't actually a question as to whether he wanted to stay or not. If it was he would've stayed to hear them talking, but instead he got up and walked out the door.

"Albus, this boy, if not looked after properly, could be the next Dark Lord." The Deputy Headmistress finally let down the mask she always held in front of students, she looked worried.

"I am well aware of that, Minerva. But, unlike Tom, I see so much good in him. And it's not buried all the way at the back, it's right at the front. I believe that this boy has a kind heart. If not for his determination and drive, he most certainly would have been in Hufflepuff." McGonagall gave him a look.

"You see good in everyone, Albus."

"I do still agree with you though. We must nurture Vladimir, so that good inside him stays. If his power is placed in the wrong hands, we'll have a serious problem."


	4. Have Each Other's Back

Nearly a week had passed before Draco received a reply from his Mother.

 _Dearest Draco,_

 _I am sorry to inform you that there is next to no information available on the Dracula family, but I will inform of you what little I_ could _find. The Dracula's are an extremely powerful and influential family, especially in Eastern Europe. They are also very wealthy, and have the power to ruin anyone, even us. Their status in society is incomprehensible, they are_ above _purebloods._

 _Draco, you must stay away from this boy at all costs. He could destroy everything your Father has worked for._

 _Be safe my darling,_

 _Your Mother_

Draco read the small letter while he ate his dinner. When he reached the last sentence he looked down the long table to see Vladimir Dracula, possibly the most influential person in the whole room, sitting by himself looking lonely. It was then that Draco remembered how much he'd been picking on the boy in the last week since school started. If his Mother was right, then he could have just spent the week _repeatedly_ flushing his Father's career and their status down the toilet.

ooo

It had been a long week for Vlad. Ever since that first Transfiguration lesson people had been looking at him strangely. The Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor kept looking at him like he knew something no one else did. Like he knew Vlad's secret.

It had taken him a bit, but Vlad finally realised where he recognised the smell that was around his Professor. He had the same smell that his mother had on her when she, on the odd occasion, returned home. Except, he reeked of it, Professor Lupin hadn't been around a werewolf, he was one.

It was as Vlad sat in Defence Against the Dark Arts that he came to that conclusion. He was so busy thinking about his teacher being the very creature his dad told him to stay away from.

"Vladimir, you're not trying to fall asleep in my class too, are you?" It wasn't until he spoke that Vlad realised that Lupin was standing in front of his desk looking down at him, and his classmates were giggling at him.

"No, sir! I would never intentionally sleep in the middle of class!" Vlad responded quickly hopefully he wouldn't get a detention or any points removed.

"It's ok Vladimir, I'm only messing with you. Though, seeing as you failed to notice that all the other students moved their desks to the side of the classroom, you can go first in today's practical." Professor Lupin chuckled as Vlad looked around the room and notice he was right, all the other students _had_ moved their desks. He quickly got up and stood where Lupin had instructed, in front of a closet. It was unfortunate for Vlad that he was asked to go first, he had been trying to keep a low profile since his first day. Little could be said about how it wasn't going too well.

"Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" He gestured to the closet.

"That's a Boggart, that is." Stated a boy at the back of the room, who's name escaped Vlad's mind.

"And can anyone tell me what a Boggart looks like?" The Professor looked around the room expectantly.

"No one knows, Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-" Hermione answered from beside Harry and Ron, Ron mumbling something under his breath, until she was interrupted by Lupin.

"So terrifying. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart." Professor Lupin went on to teach the class the spell and what to be thinking of when casting it. It was several minutes until it was finally time for Vlad to face his fear.

"Okay Vladimir, join me up the front here. Now, what frightens you the most?"

"Umm, well, you see, I'm not really sure…" It was true, he knew things he was afraid of, things like heights, spiders, and Renfield's cooking, but he had no idea what frightened him the most. Well, he knew he was scared of becoming an evil, power hungry Vampire, but surely there was something that scared him more.

"That's okay, we'll just have to wait and see. But remember, when you cast the spell think of something amusing." Professor Lupin moved out of the way and opened the closet. Vlad took a deep breath and watched the door open.

There was a collective gasp in the room as an exact copy of Vlad, although he was wearing a black shirt and pants, stepped out of the closet. Everyone was confused, was he afraid of himself?

"Hello Vlad… I suppose you might be confused. Who were you expecting? Dad, telling you how disappointing you are? Ingrid, complaining how pathetic and worthless you are? Mum? Here to remind you you're not worth sticking around for? Well, you already knew all that. You know it's true and you know that _I'm_ the better version of you, the one dad can be proud of, the our sister adores, like siblings should. And you also know that I am _far more_ powerful than you could ever dream to be. I'm faster, I'm stronger, I'm _better_ … and you know why." Boggart Vlad flashed an evil smile at Vlad revealing his fangs, but from where they were standing, only Vlad and Lupin saw it.

"Ridikulus!" Vlad shouted, turning Boggart Vlad into the 'nerd' version of himself that Stokely Castle sometimes turns his reflection into. The class, after a nervous silence burst into laughter.

"Alright! Who's next!" Lupin cheered to the class. Tears still stained Vlad's cheeks and when he was just about to make his way to the back of the classroom Lupin whisper to him, "See me after class, would you."

Vlad sat at the back of the classroom for the rest of the class. What was with his teachers always wanting to see him after class? It felt like he'd only been on time a handful of times because of it.

His Boggart wasn't like the other students, his was truly the worst thing possible for him. Becoming an evil, bloodsucking monster. Class was dismissed early because of Harry Potter's Boggart, it was a Dementor and a danger to Harry and the other students. So once all the other students left, Lupin approached Vlad. "Vladimir, would you like to talk about what happened today?"

"Just Vlad is fine, and no, not really." Vlad replied with his head bowed, so it was impossible to tell exactly what he was feeling.

"Okay, but just know that if you ever want to talk, my office door is wide open. Also, you may want to rest up before dinner, you look tired." Lupin turned and walked up the stairs leading to his office.

Vlad decided too take the advice and made his way to the dungeons. On his way he noticed Hermione seeking into an old, unused classroom. He decided to ignore it for now, he needed sleep. Vlad and Hermione had developed a strange sort of friendship in the week they'd known each other, they hung out a lot in the Library a lot. But they never really talked in the classes they shared. He supposed it was because Hermione knew that Harry and Ron didn't like him very much.

Vlad's thoughts were broken by voices coming from one of the couches on the other side of the common room as he entered. He couldn't see who it was, but he could hear them.

"…And did you see what happened today?"

"Yes! It was so funny. I mean, come on, who's afraid of themselves? And did you see that he was crying?!"

Vlad narrowed his eyes, he knew they were talking about him, but should he confront them? Or leave them be? He decided on leaving them be, for now anyway. Vlad ran up the stairs and walked to his bedroom door. When he opened the door all of his roommates were there, minus Crabbe and Goyle, who were most likely already waiting for dinner to start.

The other Slytherins all just watched him walk to his bed and close the hangings around him so he could get some sleep.

Vlad had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

The boys on the other side of the hangings all spoke in whispers. Not out of respect for the fact Vlad was sleeping but because they had all read Draco's letter from his Mother. As time passed on they debated wether or not to wake him for dinner. They decided not to.

But what surprised them the most was, when they returned rather late from dinner, Vlad's hanging were still closed and they hadn't seen him at dinner. The group decided to take the risk and and drew back the hangings. Expecting to see the teen fast asleep in his bed, they were, naturally, shocked when there was no one in the bed.

ooo

Vlad was sitting under a tree on the edge of the forbidden forest, gazing up at the moon. He was beginning to think that having a nap wasn't such a good idea after all. He'd slept through most of dinner, and when he went to the Great Hall to grab something to eat, he decided against it because he wan't feel very hungry. So instead Vlad made his way to the edge of the forbidden forest and sat down.

Vlad had never realised how much he missed his tower room at home. It helped him when he needed to get away from everything and just look at the sky. Vlad supposed that's what he was doing here, getting away from everything. If he was caught he'd probably be punished for being out after curfew, especially this close to the forest when a known killer was on the loose and headed for Hogwarts.

He sighed to himself, he'd heard awful things about Slytherin being evil from the first people he'd become friends with. They probably won't even consider being his friend now, except Hermione, but even then they basically just sat next to each other in the Library. Vlad didn't think he was evil, he didn't think his house was evil. But when it comes Slytherins it's only ever the bad things you hear about. It's never _"This amazing wizard just made a new potion to cure Dragon Pox! He was a Slytherin at Hogwarts!"_ , it's always _"There was that one evil wizard that tried to take over the world that one time. Yeah, he was a Slytherin, not surprised."_

Vlad was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a group of rushing footsteps coming toward him and hid behind a tree until he knew they had passed him.

"Dracula! We know you're out here. Show yourself!" Vlad heard a shout from further down the hill toward Hagrid's hut. It was Draco Malfoy, and going by the footsteps he heard earlier, he wasn't alone. Vlad didn't say anything for a bit, until he decided that it would probably end up better for him if he showed himself.

Vlad walked out into the open and looked down the hill at the group of Slytherin boys. "What the hell, Dracula! You're going to get us all in trouble!" This was the Blaise Zabini.

"It's not like I _asked_ you all to come down here! I came here to be alone!" As the boys looked at Vlad they saw something in him they'd never seen before. He seemed to subconsciously revel in the darkness, only broken by the half moon. The boy appeared to be more powerful here, and that was saying something, they'd all seen what he could do in class.

"Don't you get it Dracula?" Draco was feeling frustrated, Vlad was clearly very clever and knew many aspects of wizarding culture, yet he still didn't get that Slytherins stick together. Because of all the rivalry from the other houses, it was inevitable that they would have to be there to protect their own, but Vlad just didn't understand! "Us Slytherins _have_ to have each others backs, one of us gets in trouble, we all get in trouble, one of us fail, we all fail. If it wasn't this way we wouldn't have anyone."

Vlad laughed cruelly at the statement. "Have each others back? If what I've experienced this past week is you having my back I'd rather be without. I know what kind of people you are, you preach the whole 'stronger as one' and the 'united front' bullshit, but when it comes down to it you'd abandon everyone here in the blink of an eye if it helped you get ahead. So I think I'll pass on the 'sticking together' thing."

Draco was more than annoyed now, he was angry. "You don't get to make that choice! All the other houses hate us, we don't get to choose whether or not we want to be friends with people outside Slytherin. So neither do you. Now just come back inside, before someone sees."

Vlad resigned to following his roommates back inside and into their dormitory. Unfortunately, someone had seen.

Professor Lupin ran into the school once they boys had disappeared from his sight, he got to the Headmasters office as quickly as possible. He had seen _everything_ , Vlad sitting by himself with his thoughts, his housemates coming to find him, the power exuding from the boy as he argued with the others, and finally, Vlad's close enough to acceptance of his house.


	5. Patrick?

There was a loud knocking on the door of the headmasters office and, to be honest, he was more than a little surprised. It was almost midnight.

"Albus! Let me in, there is something important we need to discuss. It's concerning a student!" Professor Dumbledore recognised the voice belonging to Remus Lupin and quickly opened the door wandlessly.

"Remus, what happened?"

"It's Vladimir Dracula, he's much more powerful than I think any of us can even try to comprehend." The younger Professor looked out of breath and distressed.

"I am aware of the child's great power, but I believe there is nothing to be afraid of, as long as he is kept on the right path." Albus was clearly not worried by what he was telling him, but Remus refused to be dismissed.

"You don't understand Professor! Vladimir is, well… Vladimir's a Vampire. And not only that, he smells different. I've smelt vampires before, but none of them reeked of nearly as much power as Vlad." At this the old Professor nodded in understanding, it explained a lot.

"It's not just that Albus, today in class I put that students up against a boggart. Vladimir's was himself. Well, not quite, it was himself after he's transformed. It was saying some awful things to the boy, even flashed his fangs, though I don't think anyone else saw. The boy was left in tears.

"Then, later this evening, I saw Vladimir sitting just on the edge of the forest. He just sat there for hours deep in thought. That is until his roommates came looking for him. He got angry, in a way I would never have expected from the boy who cried in front of his classmates. It seemed that his body was taking in the energy of the darkness, even without him noticing." Remus finished his monologue and looked up at the old Professor.

"Now this is interesting… Remus, would you mind terribly to gather the teachers for me tomorrow morning. I believe it will be necessary to make them aware of the potential threat in our midst. However, I think it would benefit Vladimir if we keep the Vampire part a secret. For now, anyway." The younger Professor took this as his cue to leave and wished the Headmaster a good night, then made his way to his own bed.

ooo

It has been several days since the day Vlad confronted his boggart. He began to notice a change in his peers around him, they no longer stared at him in awe of his wandless magic, they no longer smiled when he looked their way. No, now every time he caught someone's eye they quickly looked away, he knew people were still staring, but not like they used to. It was in fear of him. Even Hermione wouldn't talk to him unless it was necessary.

Why were they scared? Vlad had no idea. He didn't think he'd done anything to scare people. These were the kind of thoughts flowing through Vlad's mind as he walked through the halls of Hogwarts on the late Saturday afternoon. His question was soon answered when he was just about to turn a corner.

"Did you here about Dracula?" The young girls voice made Vlad stop in his tracks. What was being said about him?

"Yeah, didn't Malfoy tell everyone that he was pure evil or something? That's saying something coming from him." It was another young girl. It was obvious to him now that Malfoy had been going behind his back saying things about him. And that the boy couldn't keep his word. _I think it's time Malfoy and I have a chat._ Vlad thought dangerously.

ooo

Vlad didn't have the chance to see Malfoy until just before dinner, inside the Great Hall.

"Malfoy!" Vlad shouted at the blonde boy as he was just about to sit down with his friends.

"What do you want Dracula?" His tone wasn't demeaning or superior, it was almost, _almost_ , friendly.

"Cut the crap Malfoy! How dare you say the things you said to me and then go on to do this?" This was the angriest Vlad could remember himself being at anyone.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Draco's mask was good, but not good enough for Vlad. He lived with Vampires after all, they were always hiding their emotions.

"So the whole 'Slytherins have to stick together' thing doesn't ring any bells? And you _weren't_ the one spreading rumours about me? Is this the kind of person you are Malfoy? The type that writes to their mother only wishing to dig some dirt on their classmate? Next time, don't leave your letters lying around where anyone can read them." Vlad turned away from Draco and made to leave. This is, until he was hit with a leg-locker curse. He toppled a bit but was able to cast the counter-curse to release his legs and turn back around without falling over.

It was obvious that the caster was Malfoy just by the annoyed look on his face that Vlad didn't fall to the floor.

"That the best you've got?" Vlad had a glint of absolute danger in his eyes. He'd never felt so much power flowing through his veins, he concentrated that power to his hand let it go in a throwing motion toward the Slytherins. As soon as he let go the power turned into flame, he'd never made a flame ball before, his father would be proud.

Vlad left teachers and students alike in shock as he walked quickly out of the hall.

ooo

Vlad had no idea where his legs were taking him until he was standing outside Professor Lupin's office. He realised that his Defence Professor was the only one he could talk to, the man was a Werewolf after all. Even though traditionally Werewolves and Vampires don't get along it was clear to Vlad that Werewolves weren't common place in Wizarding society, so that meat he was used to being on the outside. Just like Vlad. An anomaly in Vampiric society, you don't usually get nice ones, an impossibility in the "muggle" world, and a freak in the Wizarding world.

He knocked on the office door softly three times. He wasn't even sure that the Professor would be in, he hadn't been in the Great Hall, but that didn't mean he was in his office. Luckily, he was. "Oh, hello Vladimir. Is there something you need?"

"I need to talk Professor." Vlad stared at him with necessity in his eyes, so Lupin let him in quickly.

"Of course, what's the matter?"

"It's just a lot of things have been weighing on me since I got here."

"Would you care to elaborate more? I can't be of much assistance if I don't have more information." Lupin gave Vlad a pointed look and gestured for him to take the seat on the opposite side of the desk from which he was sitting.

"Well you see, my father has all these great expectations of me, I've never been to a magic school before and so he got me a tutor to make sure I don't fall behind. Which is fine, I'm grateful in fact. But I know that if I don't succeed here he'll be way more than disappointed, he might even disown me. It's not first time he's threatened that either. He wants me to be powerful and influential, and he's always saying _'Follow MY Footsteps'_. But… I… I don't want to be like him. I mean he's great and he's my dad, but I don't want to be like him at all." Vlad looked down, ashamed by his admission.

"It's okay Vlad. I had a similar dilemma with my older brother. I looked up to him all my life, but then when I was four years old some terrible things happened. And even though it initially caused us to become closer, eventually it drew us apart." The Professor looked down, also ashamed. Neither spoke for while, letting what they had both said sink in.

"You were turned when you were only four?" Vlad's voice was small and hardly there at all, though the horror was evident.

"Excuse me?" Lupin was taken aback, how was it that Vlad was able to put together this conclusion?

"You were turned into a werewolf when you were four years old, I imagine this was the 'terrible thing' that you were talking about?" Vlad's voice was questioning, though Remus knew he already knew that he was right.

"Yes, you're correct. I was turned when I was four, but it wasn't that which drove us apart, as my brother was turned also. My father was always an obnoxious wizard, he boasted about werewolves being less than human, even campaigned against Werewolf rights, back in the day. So one day a werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, came and turned both of his sons into the very creature he despised. It made me and my brother become closer, he protected me from our father's abuse and help me get through the full moons. One day he came to me with a plan, he had found a pack of wolves in the big forest just outside the village we lived in and proposed we run away and live with the dogs. I refused, I couldn't leave my father, he had become an alcoholic, drinking away his pain overnight, someone had to make sure he got home safely. Even though I knew he hated what I was, I knew I had to stay. So my brother left without me, and I haven't seen him in person since. Although he does appear in a magazine every so often, only as a minor celebrity though, because of who he married. A vampire, actually. Strange isn't it, a vampire and a werewolf, history's greatest rivals. I know, by the way, that you're a vampire." Vlad just stared at the man, that was some rough childhood. Being abused because of who you are, that's awful. But even more concerning was that he knew, Professor Lupin knew.

"Oh come on, Vlad. How could I not know, you reek of Vampiric power. Don't worry, the only person who I told is Dumbledore, and no, I won't tell anyone else."

"Umm, Professor? By any chance was your brothers name… Patrick?"


	6. How To Be a Freak

It had been a while since Vlad's talk with Professor Lupin, and to be honest, he felt a lot better, I mean he still felt down because no one wanted to look at him, let alone talk to him. It did catch him by surprise that night to learn that his Professor was also technically his uncle-in-law. Vlad still couldn't quite get his head around it. Nonetheless, Vlad had become withdrawn, he'd stopped trying to make friends with his peers, he'd been to see Lupin a few more times but he'd stopped doing that now, he had nothing more to talk about. Vlad had even let his grades drop, he knew that he knew all of the content, he knew he _could_ write up the essays, but what would be the point? Everyone would see his marks and call him a freak when they thought he couldn't hear them. Unfortunately for him, because of his Vampiric blood his hearing was better than the average person, so he could almost always hear the whispers.

It was becoming harder and harder for Vlad to fall asleep at night. So instead of pointlessly sitting in bed trying to sleep, he'd wonder around the castle, or the grounds. He found that he preferred them at night time, mainly because it helped him remember the things he liked about home. And on the nights when the feeling of numbness left and, for a short time, replaced with home sickness, he walked to the top of the astronomy tower. He would look down over the grounds, up at the sky, he'd sit and look at the floor, lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. The tower had become his safe haven, much like his room at home.

One night Vlad was sitting in the astronomy tower, chin on his knees, arms around his legs, back against the wall, eyes focused on an unimportant spec on the floor. He started to cry, he missed his Dad's nagging to practise his Vampire powers, he missed Ingrid always being angry with him for being the favourite, and most of all he just missed the feeling that home gave him.

His silent tears turned to sobs, no one could hear him way up here so it wouldn't even matter if he were to shout at the world for screwing up his one chance of being remotely normal.

Vlad was startled out of his reminiscing of home by the sounds of what could only be claws on the steps. His tears stopped, he froze with the fear of being caught crying in the tower. He never found out what, or who, was coming up those stairs. Whatever it was had turned around and gone back down.

ooo

It was almost sunrise when Vlad walked back into his dormitory to make it look like he was there all night. He knew that on normal days his roommates would probably be waking up by now, but today was no ordinary day, today was Saturday. So naturally Vlad assumed they were all fast asleep enjoying their sleep-in. Unfortunately, Vlad had forgotten that it was never a good idea to assume.

"Have a nice night Dracula?" As Vlad closed the door behind him he noticed that all of his roommates were wide awake and looking at him. Vlad chose not to say anything as he walked over to his trunk to get one of the books on hypnotism his father had made him pack, though he did make sure to hide the cover from the other people occupying the room.

"What you reading Dracula? _'How to be a freak'_? Wait, you wouldn't need a book for that." Malfoy and his friends were really getting on Vlad's nerves. Why couldn't they just mind their own business and leave Vlad alone?

"What've you been doing, Dracula? Sneaking out after dark, coming back before morning, hoping we'd be none-the-wiser? Well, we could always tell Professor Snape that you've been going out after curfew. That is, unless you tell us what you were doing." Malfoy was using his usual drawling tone, but Vlad could see there was fear in his eyes, he'd seen what Vlad could do, experienced it. He was keeping up an act, Malfoy didn't really want to threaten him. But if this was the game he was playing, Vlad would play along. Although with Malfoy, Vlad had learned that it was best to humour him when the information wasn't damning.

"Yes, you would go crying to your godfather when things don't go your way. It helps that he's our Head of House too. But, if you must know, I was up in the astronomy tower. It reminds me of home. You see, at home I'm not forced to share a room with five backstabbing gits, only a castle with one backstabbing sister. I also have my own tower, thus the attraction to the astronomy tower, yes? It mainly just helps me think and escape from all the people below it." Vlad turned back to his book like nothing had been said.

"You live in a castle!?" Crabbe was one of the slowest in the group, so Vlad thought he may as well explain for the boy.

"Yes, I live in a castle. It's just above a small muggle town in the south of Wales. Both of my parents have enough money for my great great grandchildren to never have to work a day in their lives, so buying the castle was no problem, although we still own the one in Transylvania. Dad has a strong… connection to the place." Crabbe nodded in understanding, though Vlad wasn't certain he did understand.

Once again Vlad turned back to his book, breakfast wouldn't start for another hour.

ooo

Vlad woke up startled. He'd had the weirdest dream ever, he was in a forest with Robin. It took him a moment to realise he was in the Great Hall where his peers were eating breakfast. They stared at him before quickly turning away when he looked at them.

"Freak." Someone muttered to their friend. By now Vlad had given up caring enough to glare at the person, so he ignored it.

ooo

Vlad woke up again from a weird dream, this time he was in potions and his cauldron was boiling over.

"Ten points from Slytherin and detention after dinner, for sleeping in class, again. Meet me here halfway through dinner at seven o'clock, Mr Dracula."

Vlad wasn't nearly as bothered about receiving his first detention as he was the rip by his robes on his shoulder. That was in his dream, there's no way it could have actually happened.

ooo

In Vlad's dream he was fighting slayers that looked like the Branaughs, Robin was coxing him to shape shift into a wolf. He wasn't even sixteen, he couldn't do that! But somehow he did.

Vlad woke up from the strange dream several more times that day, he'd never fallen asleep so many times in one day before, once he even had a cut he had gotten in the dream. There was no way that was a coincidence.

After classes Vlad quickly ate his dinner and ran down to the dungeons to make sure he wasn't late for his detention. He arrived with two minutes to spare and waited for Professor Snape to meet him. At Seven o'clock sharp, Snape was opening the classroom door for Vlad to enter.

"Good evening, Mr Dracula. I hope you have caught up on your sleep, because you may be here for a while." Vlad swore that even in the dim light the Professor had a sadistic gleam in his eye. "You will be cutting up flabbergasted leeches, this must be done carefully and precisely. Here is your instruction sheet, you may sit over there." Snape pointed toward a desk near the back of the room where there was a bucket and a tray. "Try not to make any noise, I'm marking essays."

Vlad took his seat and read the instructions. He was to grab one leech at a time (they were already dead so Vlad wasn't as disgusted by the blood sucking animal as he normally would have been), slice down the middle but not all the way through to the other side. The place the leech open side down on the tray, and repeat. It shouldn't be too hard.

ooo

Professor Snape was yet to confront the boy about the possibility of there being more than a coincidence in his last name and the story. Though Severus still believed he didn't have enough evidence to prove anything, he thought he could at least test the boy a little in his detention. He had purposely put the equipment the boy would need in the back of the room, where there was the least amount of light. Vladimir appeared to be coping quite well with the lack of light, something a normal student would have found quite difficult. It was clear that Vladimir's eyes were made for the dark. He would have to test the boy some more, though it was unfortunate that a lot of the information on Vampires was a load of twaddle, so testing may become difficult.

Severus' thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud from the back of the room. "I told you not to make noise, Mr Dracula, I'm marking."

When there was no response the Professor looked up from the drivel that somehow passed as an essay. He could no longer seen the boy. He got up and walked to the back of the room, Vladimir was passed out on the floor. Severus pressed his fingers to the boys neck, his pulse was wild and frantic. He tried to wake the boy, but nothing worked. So the Professor lifted the boy with a charm and ran him to the hospital wing.

ooo

A letter was sent to the Dracula house hold by Professor Dumbledore letting them know about Vlad's condition and if they wished to come and see him, they were more than welcome. This letter was the reason for what happened next in the halls of Hogwarts while everyone was still at dinner.

Through the main entrance burst an angry Count Dracula and a bored Ingrid following behind. They were greeted by Dumbledore and quickly escorted to the hospital wing.

"So this is the school that made my life just a whole lot better by taking Vlad out of the picture?" Ingrid asked with an innocent tone, but even Dumbledore and Pomfrey knew it was anything but.

"Ingrid," The Count growled at his daughter.

"Can I have a look around?" Ingrid asked, still with the innocent tone.

"I don't see why not, it's after dinner but before curfew, you might make a friend." Dumbledore smiled at the girl.

"Yes, and you can stay away until we go home. Vladdy doesn't need you making him worse." The Count watched Ingrid turn on her heel and storm out of the hospital wing.

ooo

As Ingrid walked through the halls she didn't encounter many people, but those who she did only stared at the strange girl walking through the halls. That was until she was approached by someone behind her.

"You lost?" She turned around to see a blonde boy standing against the wall, he appeared to be around Vlad's age.

"No. Even if I was I wouldn't ask someone as far below me as you for directions." Ingrid knew she was above everyone in the whole place, but that didn't stop her from being curious about the boy, especially because he was the first person here to talk to her.

"Trust me when I say that I doubt you're above me. I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." The boy stood from his leaning position and walked closer to her.

"Is your name supposed to mean something? Perhaps mine will to you. Dracula, Ingrid Dracula." Ingrid smirked when she saw the boys eyes widen before he schooled his features back to blank with just a touch of curiosity.

"I didn't think Dracula actually had a sister, I thought he was just making a point. Although, to be fair, no one really knows anything about him. I'm his roommate and the only things we know are general things like, he moved from Romania, specifically Transylvania, to England last year. He had a tutor instead of attending a magical school. He doesn't really sleep at night, seeming to prefer to fall asleep during classes. Why are you here anyway? You don't go to Hogwarts so why would you be here?"

She sighed. "If you must know my stupid brother went and collapsed so they called me and my father in. I was bored, so I left." Ingrid still looking bored drawled to the boy.

"Are you a squib?" The boy asked bluntly after being silent for almost a minute.

"A what?" Ingrid looked more than irritated, just by the way he said the word she could tell it wasn't something one should strive to be.

"A squib, a person born of magical parents but has no magic themselves. I was merely curious because you're clearly not old enough to be out of school yet and if you weren't a squib it would make sense that you would be at Hogwarts with your brother. But you're not. So the natural conclusion is, you're a squib." Draco's explanation was drawn out by his bored voice.

Ingrid was insulted, of course she had magic! It just wasn't as obvious as Vlad's because… Well she had no idea but it wasn't fair! And she was going to show this boy that she did, in fact, have magic. Because she was nearing her sixteenth birthday, she was developing some of her Vampire powers, she had found, when angry enough, she could produce a fireball. So she gathered her power and anger to her hand and threw it at the boy. He ducked.

"As you can see, I have magic. My father though doesn't believe a girl is worthy to be taught such things at a school, thus he has resigned me to tutors only." Yes, it was technically a lie, but what harm could it do? It's not like she'll ever see the boy again.

She turned to leave the him and head back to the hospital wing, when she realised that she had walked so far she didn't know where she was or how to get back. She sheepishly turned back to the boy and asked, "Can you show me the way to the hospital wing?"


	7. Technically Human

Vlad had been asked to stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the week, and today was Sunday, he was finally free from the confines of the stark white bed spread, the smell that reminded him of that he was surrounded by the sick and injured. As the few days he was there went by in the slowness of each second being counted by the nonstop ticking of the clock above him, people came, people left, people came to see their friends and to wish them well.

Nobody came to see him. Until his fourth day, he was staring out the window next to his bed when a smallish blonde haired girl walked in. Vlad didn't recognise the girl, but she seemed to know him.

Vlad had been hesitant, it wouldn't be the first time someone had seemed nice and friendly only to turn away when it suited them. But they talked and he got to know her more, things like her name is Luna, she's in Ravenclaw, she loves rabbits, and… She's alone, like him. An outsider, an outcast. The students thought she was crazy, Vlad thought she was brilliant.

Over the next few days, Luna came back after classes to eat dinner with him so he wasn't by himself, and everyday he thanked her. Everyday she said it was nothing. Vlad knew that it wasn't though, he'd made his first real friend here at Hogwarts, they had made friends in each other.

After Vlad had been released from the hospital wing he and Luna made habit of eating lunch together in the courtyard. It was the only time they could really hang out.

o0O0o

When Vlad had come back into consciousness in the hospital wing the last people he was expecting to see were his dad and Ingrid. They asked him about what happened in the dreamworld, well the Count did, Ingrid just looked annoyed. Vlad decided not to tell his dad about being the Chosen One. He didn't know why, it just didn't feel right.

o0O0o

Madam Pomfrey made her way to Professor Dumbledore's office. She had uncovered something very interesting when Vlad was staying in the wing, things she felt the headmaster should know about his student. She went to knock on his door but it opened before her hand could reach it.

"Poppy, please, do come in." Albus smiled warmly at her from behind his desk. "Is there something you wish to discuss?"

"Yes Albus, there is. It's about young Vladimir, I found a few thing you might want to know about when I was running some tests on him." Poppy stared as the Headmaster smiled an even bigger smile.

"I assume this is about Vampiric blood, yes?"

"Well yes, but not only that. Albus, Vladimir is half human." His smile dropped, this he had not expected. This could be catastrophic, especially for the boy. It would be his neck on the line after all.

"Poppy, I suggest that this information doesn't leave this room."

"Don't worry, it won't."

o0O0o

Vlad still wasn't doing as well as he could in classes, although having a friend did boost his motivation. In classes he could hear them whispering about him. Day after day, he heard them. They didn't seem to run out of things to say. One day, in the middle of potions, Vlad reached the end of his tether. He couldn't handle it anymore.

So he ran. He ran out of the class room, up the stair that lead out of the dungeons. He ran through the halls, to the entrance hall and out the massive doors. He ran down the hill of which the castle was sitting on and into the darkness of the forbidden forest. He knew he wasn't allowed in there, he knew he'd be in serious trouble, but he didn't care. Even when there was a mass murderer on the loose and headed for school he just didn't care anymore.

Vlad found a small clearing just far enough from the edge of the forest that he couldn't be found easily. He lay down and looked up at the sky and watched the clouds move slowly above him. It was almost dark when Vlad finally decided it was time to head back to the castle. He took his time walking up the hill. Took his time wondering the halls until he reached the stair that would take him down into the dungeons. And finally he took his time walking through the Slytherin common rooms and up the stairs to his dormitory where he slowly fell onto his bed. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, something that hadn't happened in a long time.

He had felt the eyes on him as he passed through the common, he felt the fear, he felt the judgement, and he felt the pity. Even when it was so obvious that he was just lonely, even his housemates didn't want to make him feel better. Only Luna, the other lonely outcast.

o0O0o

It was getting close to curfew when Hermione saw Vlad walking slowly and solemnly. His head up, like he had to put on the facade of being proud of who he was, yet he still looked like the saddest person alive. Hermione had also seen him going to speak with Professor Lupin once in a while. So she figured he might know what was going on with Vlad.

She made her way to his office and knock softly on the door, on the other side she hear a quiet, "Come in!" And opened the door.

"Hello Professor." He gestured for her to sit opposite him.

"Hermione, lovely to see you, as always. Do you have some questions about our lesson today?" Hermione smiled, he knew her well.

"Not on this occasion, Professor. Today I have some more… personal questions." She looked at him to gauge his reaction, he didn't seem to be bothered so she continued, "I've been noticing that Vlad has been looking rather off lately, and well, I also noticed that you and him seemed to be fairly close and I was wondering if you could tell me what was going on with him?" Hermione looked down at her lap, she knew it was a long shot. Even if he did know, he may not be able to tell her.

"It's a very complicated situation, Hermione. Most of which I am not permitted to speak of. But I will tell you what I can." Hermione nodded for him to continue.

"As you've probably noticed, Vlad is a very skilled wizard, some might even call his power superhuman." Lupin smiled to himself, like he had made his own personal joke that Hermione didn't get. "Because of this power, and the fact he is the first born son, his father expects a lot from him. He must take over being the head of the Dracula family, he must produce his own heir with someone of equal power, though that person will be hard to find. All of this pressure on Vlad is then doubled by that fact that he has had trouble making friends here. Several time he thought that he was making progress only for him to be stabbed in the back."

Hermione looked down again, she felt ashamed. She had been that person. She had turned on him when a stupid rumour started floating around, how could she be so cruel.

"It was't all you Hermione. He thought he had made friend in Harry and Ron too, but as soon as he was sorted they turned on him. Then there were his roommates, they had been rude at first, then when Vlad went to clear his head after the boggart lesson. His roommates saw that he was out after curfew and went to find him. They had an argument which ended in Vlad being told that they have to stick together, because no other houses are going to help them. And you saw what happened in the Great Hall." Hermione kept her head down.

"Hermione, as long as you're here for him now, and when he needs it, he'll forgive you."

"Thanks Professor." Hermione flashed him a smile and walked out of the small office.

"Oh! Hermione, before you leave, I was wondering if you've ever wondered about Vlad's last name?" Hermione gave him a confused look, but nodded.

"Yes, I did think it was strange that his family came from Transylvania _and_ his last name is Dracula. It just seems like a bit too much of a coincidence. Don't you think?" However, Hermione did have a faint memory of Vlad talking about a distant relation to the story, but she have just imagined it.

"Yeah, but it' s probably nothing." Lupin turned back to the work on his desk as Hermione left.

o0O0o

Christmas came and went too quickly for Vlad, he was currently sitting on the train back to Hogwarts. He wasn't ready to return to it yet, all the whispers, all the hate. He just wanted to be a normal kid and go back to normal school. But he couldn't do that, he had spent the whole summer studying to make sure he wouldn't be left behind. He has a duty to himself to get through his schooling at Hogwarts.

When the carriages arrive in front of the main entrance Vlad gets out along with the other occupants. They all walk into the Great Hall and depart separately to head toward they're separate tables. Vlad sat down at the Slytherin table and waited for the feast to be over so he could go to bed and pretend he was a normal thirteen year old.

o0O0o

"Professor Lupin is once again unable to teach so I will be filling in for this lesson." Everyone turned around in their chairs to see Professor Snape walking down the centre of the room towards the chalk board. He waved his wand and a word appeared on the board that Vlad had dreaded seeing ever since he had read the chapter names in his Defence textbook. "Vampire."

"Can anyone tell me a defining trait of a vampire?" Hermione was, naturally, the first to put up her hand but he ignored her. "No one? Okay, these are the defining traits of a vampire."

Snape waved his wand and a list of traits appeared of the board.

 _Fangs_

 _Drinks blood_

 _Strength of twenty men_

 _Shape-shift into bat and wolf forms_

 _Can turn into dust / smoke_

 _Has no reflection_

 _Casts no shadow_

 _Hypnosis_

 _Can turn victim into a vampire_

 _Cannot enter a household without being invited in_

 _Loses power in the day time_

 _Must sleep on the soil of his native land_

 _Is repelled by garlic and holy symbols (crucifix, holywater, etc.)_

 _Killed by a wooden stake to the heart, decapitation, direct sunlight_

Vlad raised his hand to speak when he finished reading the list. "Excuse me Professor, but only about two thirds of that is right. And you missed a couple things."

Snape looked annoyed, yet intrigued. "And how do you know that, Mr Dracula?"

"Professor, I grew up in Transylvania, the birthplace of the original vampires."

"Then why don't you come up here and make your corrections." Vlad could tell he was being condescending, but he didn't really care. So he got up out of his seat and made his way up to the board and grabbed the piece of chalk that sat next to it.

"Fangs and drinking blood are fine. But for starters, vampires don't have the strength of twenty men, it's about five for average and ten tops. The shape-shifting is right, but with enough talent and practise, a vampire can shift into the shape of anything. Dust and smoke is correct. So is reflection, however, they can cast shadows. Hypnosis is also fine, as well as turning people into vampires, although a vampire can also be born of two vampires. Entering houses is correct. The powers part is just flat out wrong, so is the soil thing, but they do find it easier to sleep in a coffin, so it almost count I suppose. They are repelled by garlic, but not holy symbols. And then the kills thing is all good there." Vlad finished and turned back to Professor Snape with a small smile.

"Oh! I almost forgot, you missed three crucial things Professor. A vampire has suppressed, when they die they turn to dust, and as a rule vampires are very pale." Snape gave Vlad a look, a look that said he knew something. Something that could hurt Vlad.

"Thank you for your contribution, Mr Dracula. Does anyone have anything against these added points? Yes, Miss Granger?" Everyone was confused when he called on Hermione, Snape must _really_ have wanted to prove Vlad wrong.

"I'm sorry Professor, but how can any of what Vlad said be true? None of that is in the text book, how could he even know that?" Hermione was looking from Vlad to Snape and back again, the gears in her head clearly working hard. Vlad was annoyed, not much was know about vampires to the wizarding community, why was it so far fetched that what he said was true?

"Other than the fact it's not in the text book you have nothing to prove that what I said was wrong. And how could you _possibly_ know? There is next to zero information about vampire here, the chapter is only two pages long! Why don't you go find a vampire to tell you that you're wrong!?" And with that Vlad sat down at his desk in the back of the room.

o0O0o

"Professor! I worked it out! I did it! I figured out what you were trying to tell me when we talked about Vlad! I'm going to ask him about it right now." After the lesson with Snape Hermione had finally noticed that Lupin had basically told her what Vlad was. It was no wonder he knew all that stuff about vampire that no one else did.

Hermione ran to find Vlad, he'd probably be in the library.

o0O0o

"Hey Vlad, can I talk to you for a second?" Hermione had found him, not in the library, but in the courtyard.

"Umm, yeah sure. If it's about today in defence, then I just want to say I'm sorry for yelling at you." Vlad looked into her eyes and all Hermione could see was sincerity.

"Thanks, but that not what I wanted to talk about, well, It almost is." She paused for way longer than was necessary in Vlad's opinion.

"I know." was all she said.

"You know what?" Vlad had some idea of what she was talking about, but to be safe he wouldn't blab.

"I know that your a vampire." She said this with a stern, no nonsense look on her face.

"What are you on about, Hermione? How could you think that I'm a vampire, I love garlic." Vlad knew that was a lie, he hated garlic, but at home he ate it just to show that he could and that he wasn't a vampire yet. He was still human!

 **The list I used for Snape's class is a slightly modified one from the internet. All of is basically the same, except that direct sunlight wasn't there. It's a list of the traits of the original Count Dracula**


	8. Secret Keeping

My Darling Vladimir,

 _I received your letter about Patrick's brother, Remus. It is quite curious how he happens to be your teacher, although I know for a fact that your father would not approve. Not just because of his Werewolf heritage, but they have also met before. Let's just say that they didn't get on very well. I'd possibly go as far as to call them enemies._

 _If you have any questions on how to deal with a Werewolf, feel free to contact me._

 _Your Mother,_

 _Magda Carmilla Elizabetta Bathoria Westernra_

Vlad was rereading the letter he had received from his mother almost a week ago, it was the only one she'd sent him since he got here. He had asked her about Professor Lupin to see if he was correct in assuming that they were related by law. He was, at the present moment, walking to the Great Hall for dinner. He was going to confront Lupin, Hermione knowing was what finally pushed him into action. Even if doing it in front of the entire school was probably a bad idea and could potentially lead to his secret being revealed. He just had to do it now.

He was already late for dinner and all the students and staff were eating as he pushed open the huge doors, and made his way to the head table. He could feel the curious eyes of the whole school staring at him. When he was about ten meters away from the table he stopped, and spoke.

"I can't believe you." He was looking directly at Remus. "I trusted you, and you told her! I told you everything about me. You didn't even tell me that my own father hates you. I would have thought that's something you tell your nephew!"

The hall was filled with quiet gasps, everyone was confused to say the least.

"Who told you that, Vlad? Your mother? You should know not to trust her." This only made Vlad angrier.

"You know my mother too?! And how dare you call my mother untrustworthy! She may be a psychotic bitch at the best of times but at least she's honest." At this Remus laughed, yet there was no trace of it in his eyes.

"Of course I know your mother, Vlad. She married my brother."

Vlad scoffed and muttered, "Yeah, your supposed estranged brother."

"I can see why my dad hates you. We," Vlad gestured to himself and Remus, implying vampires and werewolves. "Could never get along, that's how the world has made us. Enemies."

Vlad turned and walked out of the hall, all possible hunger had left his body when he and Hermione had talked nearly an hour ago. The anger had been raging since.

ooo

Hermione had seen what went down in the Great Hall and felt that it only confirmed what she had previously believed. But what did she do now? She had to tell Dumbledore!

ooo

It was only two weeks until the end of the year and Vlad would be back in Stokely with his family. He was taking a much needed walk through the grounds after curfew, he'd figured he wouldn't bump into anyone. Not at this hour. Oh how wrong he was. As he walked around the edge of the Forbidden Forest he saw six figures emerge from underneath the whomping willow. He recognised all of them, except one, a pudgy man with very little hair. Three of them were his peers, Harry, Ron and Hermione, one of them his Professor / Uncle, and the last he recognised as Sirius Black, a man wanted for mass murder and escape from Azkaban.

Vlad was, admittedly, terrified. The Daily Prophet had said that Black was headed toward Hogwarts, but he's always assumed that it would be near impossible that the man would be able to gain access. It was only then that it registered in Vlad's mind that none of the others seemed to be bothered by Black, they all appeared to be concerned by the man Vlad didn't recognise. Something has to be wrong, Vlad surmised. He may not like Professor Lupin, but he knew he wasn't stupid enough to casually keep the company of a convicted murderer.

Vlad did the only thing he could think of that wouldn't bring suspicion to him but meant he could still see what was going on. He hid, and he spied.

"Remus, my old friend," This made Vlad pause, Remus was _friends_ with Sirius Black? "Have you taken your potion tonight?"

This caused Vlad to look up where everyone else was looking, the full moon. _Oh no!_

He watched as the Black talked to Remus, trying to keep him in his right mind, but it wasn't working. The defence professor was turning into his wolf form and loosing himself as he went. When he was fully transformed Black was flung away from his friend. Snape then emerged from under the willow, only to be flung away also. Then, to confuse Vlad even more, a big black dog started to fight with the wolf. The dog diverted the wolf's attention and led it away from the Professor and three children. When Harry called out "Sirius!" Vlad was _even more_ confused. He had no idea what was going on, he should have just stayed inside this evening.

In the distance Vlad could see that the dog was being thoroughly beaten by the wolf. Harry ran to where they were and Snape shouted at him to come back. Vlad knew he had to do something, Harry was basically defenceless against a werewolf. So he ran, he knew that he would have been seen but that didn't matter when people's lives were in danger!

Harry threw a rock at Lupin's head and the wolf turned on the boy.

"Harry! What are you doing?!" Harry turned to see Vlad coming up behind him.

"Vlad!?" Harry shouted back, then when the wolf was nearly in his face Vlad stepped in front of him and stared deeply into the wolf's eyes, his own turning yellow.

"Werewolf, you will turn around and find peace in the forest tonight, stay there until sunrise." Lupin did as he was told and for once Vlad was grateful the Count had forced him to take that Hypnotism book with him.

"What did you do!?" Harry looked shock, which was that surprising considering Vlad had just told a werewolf what to do and it listened. Professor Snape came up behind them, followed by Ron, who was holding onto Hermione for support. Everyone looked confused, except Snape, he looked almost smug, though Vlad was't sure why.

Harry gasped, "Sirius!" then ran down the hill the dog had fallen.

ooo

By morning the three Gryffindors were safely tucked away in the Hospital Wing. Vlad had asked them to please not tell anyone what happened, they assured him that they wouldn't. Though Ron did take a bit of convincing.

On his way back to the dungeons, Vlad was pulled from his thoughts by Professor Snape.

"It would seem, Mr Dracula, that I have enough evidence to prove my theory."

"And what, if you don't mind me asking Professor, is your theory?" Vlad made himself appear calm and innocent, but on the inside he was nervous that _another_ person had figured out his secret.

"I think we both know to which I'm referring. Last night was the last piece I needed, thank you for intervening." The professor smirked at his student and walked away. _Dammit!_ Vlad thought, Snape did figure it out. How come so many people at Hogwarts had to be smart? Why couldn't they be like the students at Stokely Grammar? There only two people that weren't family knew, Robin and Chloe. Well… The Van Helsings knew too, but nobody ever believed them.

ooo

"Albus, I have some important information. It's concerning a student." Snape had a file in his hand, he had compiled all of his evidence so that there was no way that the old Professor could tell him he was just being silly.

"And which student is this?" Dumbledore had a suspicious feeling he knew which student it was.

"Mister Vladimir Dracula." Snape lay the folder onto Albus' desk.

"I'm assuming it is about his Vampiric nature, yes?" He was really getting bored of this conversation, how many times was he going to have it over the years Vlad went to Hogwarts? Clearly the boy couldn't keep the secret to save his life.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Severus, you were not the first person to notice something odd with the boy. However, I would like to have a look at the information you have gathered. It would make for some interesting reading, I believe." He reached for the folder and started to flick through it.

"He really isn't very good at secret keeping is he?" The Professor commented when he looked over the picture of the chalk board before and after Vlad had changed it.

"It would seem so."


	9. Ivan the Bloodthirsty

"It feels good to be home." Vlad sighed as he flopped on his bed.

"Oh yeah, spending a whole year away at a _magical school_ must have been horrible." Ingrid was standing in the door of his room with her usual frown.

"Just because there's magic doesn't mean I can't get homesick Ingrid." She sneered and turned around.

Vlad had spent the whole train ride with Luna. It had been great talking with her considering that hadn't had time to talk much with their exams and things. But he really was grateful to be home.

Luna had promised that she would send him an owl to invite him to stay at her house during the holidays. Although Vlad highly doubted he'd be allowed to go he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

ooo

"Vladimir!" Vlad's dad called from downstairs, it's almost been a week of the holidays and his dad organised to continue his tutoring every Saturday. The day being Saturday, Vlad naturally assumed that his dad was calling him because Antoinette had arrived. He was really getting the feeling that he should stop assuming things. When Vlad got down the stairs he saw the Count standing there expectantly.

"Hey dad, where's Antoinette?" His tutor was nowhere to be seen.

"Antoinette? She's coming tomorrow instead, your cousins are arriving tonight and you _need_ to go and get changed, you know the clothes I'm talking about."

"Yeah, the black ones with a hint of crimson." Vlad grumbled, deciding not to question his father about cousins he didn't even know he had and left to get changed.

ooo

"Prepare to meet 'Ivan, the Bloodthirsty'!" They were at Stokely train station as the train pulled up, three people walked out and stood in front of them.

"Bro!"

"Ivan?!"

"Actually, it's Harvey now. Ivan's so old country." 'Harvey' replied with a smile.

ooo

The first day with Uncle 'Harvey', and cousins Boris and Olga had been interesting to say the least. Boris was studying so he was prepared for his transformation next week, whilst Olga was playing the good girl and Uncle 'Harvey' spent his time trying to convert the Count to soy-blood. Vlad was definitely happy that when the next day rolled around and he got to spend the evening and most of the night with his tutor.

The sound of the door bell rang through the castle and Vlad went to open the door. He greeted Antoinette and brought her through to the living room.

"Who is this Vlad?" Uncle 'Harvey' asked from his seat at the dining table.

"This is Antoinette Knight, she's my tutor."

"Your dad doesn't tutor you himself?" Uncle 'Harvey' looked more confused than Vlad did on the day he got his first Hogwarts letter, and that is saying a _lot_.

"No, because I need a special tutor for the school I'm attending in Scotland. It's a Wizarding school." 'Harvey's eyes widened considerably by Vlad's statement.

"You were accepted by the wizards?"

"That's what I said, yes." Vlad felt strange as soon as he said that, it was snarky, worthy of a smirking face and almost mean. He was spending to much time around Slytherins.

"Thats… Well, that's incredible! Vlad, no vampire has been accepted by the Wizards in centuries! How is it going?" He seemed as excited as a child that discovered Christmas would be coming twice this year.

"Fairly well, I'm an average of second and third in my year. It's all thanks to Antoinette though, I would have been left in the dust if it wasn't for her." Vlad looked up at his tutor with a smile.

"No, Vladimir. You flatter me too much, it was all there in you already I just brought it out."

ooo

The rest of the holidays can be summed up quite quickly, Vlad once again excelled in his studies (and received his Hogwarts letter for next year), Boris became an evil vampire, Ingrid over came her more evil side and bit her boyfriend Will (the boyfriend that no one bothered to tell Vlad about, so he was naturally worried when he showed up at their door saying Ingrid had bit him), Boris killed the Grand High Vampire, Vlad revealed that he was the Chosen One to save his father from the Crown of Power and his friends from the vampires, and Ingrid avenged Will's death by taking over Stokely.

ooo

When Ingrid had taken over deeming that Stokely would "run red with blood", the Count and Vlad only just managed to get away when the battery ran out in the UV cage. They ran away and bought an old castle called Garside Grange, that had been turned into a school. Antoinette still visited every Friday, and Vlad was adamant about going back to Hogwarts, even with his father wishing him to stay here where he was hidden.

"Dad! It's been said that Hogwarts is the safest place in the world!" The Count growled at that.

"I don't care if it's been said that Hogwarts is the safest place in the universe! It's safer here where I can look out for you." Antoinette was sitting in the corner, she had thought it best that father and son work this out themselves. But this argument was going nowhere, she had to do something.

"Count Dracula, do you not wish for your son, the Chosen One, to complete his magically training in the most magical place in Britain?" She knew what she had said is almost impossible to argue with. Vlad was the Chosen One, to not send him back to Hogwarts would be blasphemous.

"Okay, okay! But only one more year, after that he must concentrate on furthering his vampiric power. That is, after all, what he'll become. Not some silly little wizard." And with that Antoinette took Vlad back to Kings Cross, where they walked through the barrier and onto the train.

As Vlad sat in an empty compartment he looked out the window and waved to Antoinette. As she waved back Vlad heard someone enter the small room.

"That your mother Dracula? You don't look much like her, were you adopted?" He could recognise that voice even after the long summer holiday, Draco Malfoy. Vlad turned around to speak to the boy as the train began to move out of the station.

"Actually, that's my tutor. My father doesn't care much for crowds, and my mother… Well I'm sure you heard my argument with Professor Lupin last year, 'she can't be trusted'." Vlad was still angry with Lupin about him outing his secret to Hermione. Too many people knew, at this rate he wouldn't be surprised if the whole school knew by the end of his fifth year.

"And how were your holidays, Malfoy? Get everything on your Christmas list?" Vlad said the words sweetly, but Draco knew they were anything but.

"Oh yes, everything. But that's because my parents can afford it." Draco sneered at him.

"My parents wouldn't celebrate Christmas if I beg them to, in fact they'd probably be less likely to if I begged. And trust me when I say it's not because there's a lack of money." Draco looked taken aback. He knew that what Vlad was saying was supposed to get under his skin, but he was disturbed by how genuine he sounded.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot you came from a 'powerful pureblood family from Romania'." Sneered making his voice sound more pompous when he got to the quotations.

"Like you'd forget something like that Malfoy."

"Whatever, see you 'round Dracula." And with that he turned to leave.

ooo

Luna had come into the compartment shortly after Draco left.

"Hello Vlad." He looked up at the girl and smiled, he'd been feeling quite down since Draco came and was happy for the distraction.

"Hey Luna."

"Are you excited to start your fourth year?" Vlad had noticed that when Luna talked to him she sound a lot less lost in her thoughts as she did when talking to other people. He put that down to her being more comfortable with him.

"Very, what about you?"

"No, I'm not that excited for fourth year. I still have a whole year more to wait for that." Vlad only laughed, he didn't understand why people thought Luna didn't belong in Ravenclaw. She was very witty and smart, she also had a great sense of humour which, she told him, most Ravenclaws lack.

They settled into easy conversation for several hours, until Luna told him she was going to find the Trolley and she would be back soon. Vlad decided that this was the perfect time to have a power nap.

Unfortunately he was woken up shortly after by a knock at the door. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and walked over to the door to see who was there.

"Err… Hi Vlad." He was greeted with the sight of Hermione looking sheepishly down at her feet.

"Um, hey Hermione. Do you want to come in?" She nodded and he moved aside to let her in.

"You're in a compartment by yourself?" She asked curiously.

"No, Luna's coming back soon, she went to find something to eat."

"Have you told her?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Told her what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"If you mean your claim about me being a vampire, then no. Because there's nothing to tell, it's not true." Vlad turned to look out the window instead of looking at Hermione, he heard her making her way to the seat opposite him.

"Come on Vlad, admit it. You can't deny it now, there's too much evidence stacked against you." She was clearly annoyed that he would just tell her that she was right. Vlad didn't think she could handle being told she was wrong but he had to at least try to show her that there was no way he could _possibly_ be a vampire.

"What evidence? Hermione, what you're saying doesn't make any sense. So just because my family comes from Transylvania, and my ancestors were aquatinted with Bram Stoker, makes me a vampire? Just because I knew what Professor Snape got wrong on his list of traits, I'm a vampire?"

"No! I mean those things aren't exactly helping, but that's not it. It's things like you're always falling asleep during the day, you rarely go out into the sun, and when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf you used hypnosis to tell him to stay in the forest until the sun came up!"

"I fall asleep during the day because I have lots of trouble sleeping during the night so I spend most of it studying. I don't go outside often because I'm pale, even in overcast days there's still UV rays that can burn my skin easily. And so what? I'm sure lots of wizards can use hypnosis. Hermione, I don't even have fangs, how could I possibly be a vampire?"

"I just know that you are, and I'm going to find a way to prove it!"

And with that she turned and exited the compartment. She _really_ didn't like being told she was wrong.


	10. Waltz and a Tango

The welcome back speech, sorting ceremony, and introducing new teachers were all over quickly, Dumbledore almost definitely had a big announcement. At least, that's what his housemates thought.

"Students, new and old, today is a very special day. We welcome students from two other wizarding schools to take part in an extraordinary event. First we welcome Beaubatons Academy of Witchcraft!" The doors burst open and a group of very attractive girls in silk uniforms walked into the room enchanting every male Vlad could see. Honestly, Vlad wasn't so sure what the fuss was about, there were plenty of pretty girls at Hogwarts already so what was so special about these ones?

"They're Veela, at least partially" He heard one of the jealous looking girls whisper to another. "Just look at all the boys. They haven't even seen them for more than two seconds and they're already fawning over them."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's a Veela?" Vlad whispered across the table, as they were sitting opposite them.

"Some of the girls from Beaubatons," One of the girls said, she than glanced at him and did a double take, this boy, Vladimir Dracula if she wasn't mistaken, wasn't affected by them like the others. He really is strange. "A Veela is a siren like creature, very pretty but lethal. They attract the opposite sex like a siren, but they only have one person that they can be with, if that person dies they die of heartbreak. And that's only the good stuff, if you make a Veela mad they turn into a Harpy like creature. Not the best company to keep."

"Thanks for the insight, erm..?" Vlad looked at her curiously, remembering that he didn't know her name.

"Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass." She held her hand out over the table to him.

"Vladimir Dracula, call me Vlad." He took her hand and they shook. Even though he knew it was pureblood custom to kiss her hand, by the way she held herself he could tell she didn't really care for that sort of thing.

Once the girls from Beaubatons finished their performance Dumbledore spoke up again. "And now our second school, Durmstrang Institute of Wizardry."

Once again the doors burst open but, instead of pretty little French girls, they were greeted with tough surly men, it seemed inappropriate to call them boys no matter their age. They walked down the middle of the room and one of them made a snake out of fire that circled the room before disappearing.

It was then explained by Bartemous Crouch that one student would be picked from each school to participate in the Tri-wizard tournament. To make sure nothing was rigged the selection processes was to be carried out by the Goblet of Fire, who choses the most worthy of the students names placed in the cup. Bartemous then explained that, because of the history the tournament held, only wizards and witches who are over the age of seventeen could enter their name into the game. This caused some riot, especially on the other side of the Hall at the Gryffindor table.

ooo

Vlad, as well as everyone else in the Hall, was confused. How on earth did Harry Potter manage to be chosen as a _fourth_ Champion of the _Tri_ -wizard Tournament. Dumbledore himself had drawn the age line, and there's no way he would ask someone to put his name in for him, was there?

It was nearly a week until the first task, he was taken away from his thoughts by someone calling his name and running toward him.

"Vlad… Vlad..! Vlad!" He looked up to that it was Hermione coming toward him.

"What do want Hermione? More accusations?"

"What? No! I need your help, Harry is really freaking out. We found out that the first task is Dragons!"

"Dragon? What do you want my help for?" He looked up at Hermione.

"Not me, we." She took a step to the side revealing that Harry was standing behind her.

Vlad knew he would probably live to regret this one day, he sighed and said. "Okay, fine. What do _we_ need to do?"

ooo

Whilst sitting by the Black Lake reading one of his Vampiric Studies books, Vlad was approached by a small group of about 6 girls from Beaubatons.

"Can I help you?" Vlad looked up and smiled when he saw the girls walking toward him. He stood up to greet them.

"We were just wondering what such a handsome man, such as yourself, would be sitting by the lake all alone reading a book." The girl at the front of the group spoke, Vlad got the idea that she was the unofficial leader of the group. Or official leader, Vlad didn't really understand girls that weren't his sister.

"I'm only fourteen, I'd hardly qualify as a 'man'." Vlad was more than a little confused, these girls were gorgeous and clearly at least two years older than him, why were they even talking to him?

"He's modest too!" One of the girl near the back almost squealed. This was getting weird.

"Would you ladies like to sit down?" Vlad asked politely and they giggled.

"Vladimir Dracula." He held his hand out to their 'leader'.

"Fluer Delacour. It is lovely to meet you Vladimir."

"The same to you, but please, call me Vlad. I've heard some strange things about all you girls from Beaubatons, something about Veela heritage I believe. But for that to be true you would have affected every male in your presence, and while I'll admit you're all very beautiful, I am not trapped in any kind of enchantment."

Fluer raised an eyebrow at him. "I knew there was something different about you. I also think it goes farther than anyone at this school could possibly know."

ooo

Vlad had spent the rest of the afternoon talking with the group of girls. He got to know them all a little bit. Fluer's dream was to become a high end fashion designer in Paris. Abrielle was trying to make it big in Quidditch but no one ever took her seriously because she was "just another pretty face". Violetta was super smart and really into muggle sciences, which surprised Vlad considering nobody he had met here before her even knew what science was. Lyla was basically the funny one in the group and her friends all thought she would make a great comedian, but what she really wanted to do was help change the world by becoming an environmentalist. Elise's ambition was to become a Potions Mistress, her Grandfather had mastered the profession himself before he passed away and she admired him greatly, that much was clear. And Claire was really still trying to figure herself out and where she wanted to go after school, she did, however, excel in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Vlad suggested she look into becoming an Auror.

Vlad walked into the Hall with his new friends. Unfortunately the girls had promised to sit with their other Hogwarts friends from Ravenclaw, so they parted at the door each hugging Vlad goodbye.

"We had a great afternoon, Vlad." Fluer smiled at him and leaned in for a hug and kissed his cheek.

"So did I." He whispered back and quickly left to his own table.

Vlad only noticed the stares he was getting from the _entire_ male population when he sat down at his now usual spot on the Slytherin table. When he did, he instantly felt uncomfortable. _What have I done this time!?_ Vlad thought, truly he had no idea what could be causing this. And why only the males?

"What was that about Dracula?" A boy from a little further down the table, who he recognised as Marcus Flint, glared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The Beaubatons girls, and not only that, the _hottest_ Beaubatons girls. Guys from Hogwarts and Durmstrang have been trying to get them to notice us since they got here. And you just waltz on in and suddenly their all over you! How is that fair?" Flint looked angry, _really_ angry. Vlad knew the girls were Veelas but did they really have that much effect on males as to make them so angry about another guy hanging out with them? Apparently.

"Maybe it's because I wasn't trying to get in their pants. Maybe it's because _I_ wasn't all over _them_ first. Or, maybe it's because every other guy in Hogwarts and Durmstrang are all total arses. Take your pick." Vlad had captured the attention of the whole of Slytherin. Everyone in Slytherin knew that you could torment anyone in your house as long as they were in your year level or below, unless your name is Draco Malfoy, then you're basically untouchable. For Vlad to have said these things to his higher up he was sure to be punished. Likely to be mostly psychologically and a little bit physically, and probably in the Slytherin Common Room where only those in the House could bare witness.

Then Vlad noticed nobody had said anything. Not even the 'mighty' Draco Malfoy. Vlad began to think it was because he had just insulted the male population of two whole schools. But then he saw that everyone looked almost scared when he looked at them. Then he heard a small first year whisper at him in a shaky voice. "W-what happened t-to your eyes!?"

Vlad quickly conjured a mirror, something they would be covering later in this years curriculum, and looked at himself. His irises had turned red. Now he was scared, this was a normal trait of a powerful Vampire, a 16 and up Vampire. He was only fourteen, and he was already showing more signs than just hypnotism. He wasn't even angry, or doing something really evil, why would they have turned red.

So, instead of sicking around for more people to see his eyes, he walked out of the Great Hall almost stumbling into a few people who were running late.

ooo

 _Dear Ingrid,_

 _I know we haven't talked since the whole "Chosen One" thing, but something strange happened today at dinner. I was telling an older student in my house that the girls from the school that's visiting didn't like him because he's an arse. Then everyone started to look at me funny and some first year told me my eyes had turned red, so I conjured a mirror and he was right!_

 _I didn't want to tell dad because I just know he'll get all 'My Vladdy's growing up!' on me._

 _Can you tell me what's going on?_

 _Thanks,_

 _Vlad_

ooo

"Slytherins! In the next week I will be tutoring you all in classical Wizarding dances in preparation of the Yule Ball. A tradition for the host of the Triwizard Tournament to run. I believe that there is something better we _all_ could be doing instead, so to make this less painful, you will learn quickly or there will be consequences." Professor Snape looked out at his students. How he wished he wasn't a House Head so he could be back in his office giving bad grades to irritating Gryffindors. He was almost distracted by the thought, until he saw a hand rise out of the crowd.

"Professor, all of us already know the classic Wizarding dances." Draco Malfoy said with a smirk, then turned his head to look at the Dracula boy. "Well, those of us who are important enough."

"Mr Malfoy, you assume the Mr Dracula does not know the dances, yet he comes from a family purer than your own." Severus loved riling up his Godson from time to time. Especially in front of his peers, where he couldn't complain to his ' _Uncle Sevvy!_ ' about how 'unfair' he was being.

"If you think he knows them sir, then why don't you make him demonstrate?"

"What a wonderful idea, Mr Malfoy. Mr Dracula, Miss Greengrass! Come forward and show us how it's done." Snape shared an amused look with his Godson, he knew full well that Vlad was unlikely to know Wizard dances. He was raised by Vampires after all.

"Daphne, do you know any dances from Transylvania, hell, I'm more likely to know a dance from even Romania as a whole, than any from here!" Vlad whispered frantically, this was _not_ a topic he had studied with Antoinette! What was going to do?

"Lucky for you, I know dances from all over the world. One of them happens to be the Carpathian Vals, that originated from Transylvania didn't it?" Daphne whispered back.

"Yes! Yes it did. Let me change the music." Vlad flicked his hand toward the gramophone and he watched as the label on the record changed, and it started to play.

"What the hell is this? Professor this isn't any kind of classic Wizarding music!" Malfoy was getting annoyed, he was sure that because of Vlad's out of the way upbringing he would not know how to dance to a Wizard song, and he was right! This wasn't what was supposed to be playing.

As Vlad and Daphne glided around the floor Vlad replied to Draco. "You're right Malfoy. It's not a Wizard dance, it's Carpathian. Isn't that right Daphne?"

They smiled at each other, "It sure is Vlad."

"Besides, Malfoy, who wants to dance like boring Englishmen when you dance like a fiery Romanian!" Vlad grinned a genuine grin. As they continued the dance got more and more heated, especially for 14 year olds.

"Alright!" Snape called out, waving his wand to stop the music. "I think that's quite enough of that, don't you?"

Vlad whispered a small "Thank you." In her ear as he escorted her back to her seat.

"Hey, do you want to go to the Ball with me? That is, if you're not going with anyone already." A blushed raised on her cheeks as she blurted words without thinking.

Vlad smiled. "Daphne, how could I be going with someone else? We only just found out. So yes, I would love to go to the Ball with you."

Daphne's unusually shy smile turned into a grin as she waved goodbye and walked swiftly over to her friends.

ooo

 _Dear Vlad,_

 _Normally I'd tell you to ask someone who cares, but considering the circumstances I'll tell 're experiencing some of your Vampire powers, but I think you already knew that much. Normally it comes around closer to a Vampire's sixteenth birthday, but of course there are always exceptions for the Chosen One, aren't there. If you care about keeping your identity a secret, you should try not getting angry at people, and don't try to bring them down a notch or two. That's what triggered the eyes, you weren't angry, you were, shall we say, putting him in his 'place'. So basically just be the pathetic little Breather lover I know you to be and you should be fine._

 _Ingrid_

 _PS. If you tell dad that I sent you a letter I will hunt you down and kill you._

ooo

Daphne looked stunning in her dress robes, the dark grey blue matched her eyes and beautifully contrasted her mid-length blonde hair. So much so he didn't even notice when Hermione walked in with Viktor Krum.

"Wow, she looks amazing…" He heard Daphne trail off.

"Who?" He asked looking out into the crowd.

"Granger! She really dressed up." Vlad turned his head and saw Hermione starting the dance with Krum. Her hair done half up, no longer frizzy and just enough make a noticeable difference.

"Personally I think you look more amazing."

Daphne turned to look at him with her eyes wide. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do." He grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer. "Do you, by chance, know the Carpathian Tangou?"

"It just so happens that I do, yes."

"Okay, I'll be right back." Vlad made his way through the crowd to where Professor McGonagal was about to join the Waltz with Professor Dumbledore.

"Professors!" Vlad whisper shouted. "I was wondering if it were at all possible, that after this dance Daphne Greengrass and myself could perform and dance from my own country?"

"Well I don't see why not. Go back to your partner, and when this dance is over I'll announce you." McGonagall smiled at the boy as he said a quick "Thanks!" And walked swiftly back to Daphne.

"Okay, so McGonagall is going to announce us after this dance."

ooo

Vlad and Daphne waited patiently for the first dance to end, many people joining in. Daphne, wanting to savour their moment for when everyone was watching, insisted that they wait and not join in with the rest. Vlad didn't mind, he hadn't really gotten the hang of the Wizard dances.

Just as the dance was coming to it's end, McGonagall stood on the stage and watched as everyone finished in the final pose of the dance.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the Yule Ball! Now I hope you all enjoyed the first dance of the evening, but before I let you all back to it, we have some volunteer performers for us. Mr Vladimir Dracula and Miss Daphne Greengrass will be performing a dance from Vlad's home country, Romania. Take it away you two."

Vlad once again flicked his hand toward the gramophone. It started to play the Carpathian tune and the spicy rhythm into the Hall. They danced the moves Vlad had been taught all his life, so, naturally, he didn't miss a beat.

The two spun and stepped around each other. The was dance supposed to depict a 'Romeo and Juliet'-like scenario, it starts with the two not touching each other but very close to. It progresses and as the dance continues they start to add some physical contact, starting with hands and finishing with their bodies pressed together in the final pose. The room burst into applause.

Standing cheek to cheek, Vlad whispered, "I think that was a success."

ooo

Vlad and the population of Hogwarts, Beaubatons and Durmstrang all sat in the Quidditch stands waiting for either Cedric Diggory or Harry Potter to finish the maze. After about a minute after all the Champions entered the maze Vlad had decide that there were many things he could be doing that would be more productive than this. They couldn't even see what was going on in there, it was arguably the worst spectator sport _ever_! But he knew he had to stay, over the time Vlad had been helping Harry prepare for the tasks the two had become almost friends. Friends enough that he knew he had to stay to 'watch'.

Suddenly, Harry _and_ Cedric burst out of the maze. Everyone started cheering, but Harry refused to move away from Cedric, and slowly people quieted. Cedric was dead…

Harry was being pulled away from him by Professor Moody. Harry was trying with all his might to get back to Cedric and shouting that 'He' was back. Vlad wasn't really sure who he was talking about, though he had a pretty good hunch, but he knew that Harry would need a friend.

So he followed them.

As Vlad walked toward where he'd seen Harry and Professor Moody go, he over heard a bit of their conversation.

"What was it like, in the graveyard?" Moody asked, confusing Vlad. What graveyard?

"Um, Professor? I never said their was a graveyard." He could tell this wasn't good, Harry sounded worried that the Defence Professor knew about this graveyard. It was time for Vlad to intervene. He pushed the door open to see Harry with a massive cut down his arm, and Moody rummaging furiously trying to find something.

"Vlad! What are you doing here?"

"Err… Well, I thought you looked like you might need a friend right now. Because of Cedric and stuff. What's up with Moody?" Moody turned to look at Vlad.

"Vladimir Dracula, right? Well, you may be Harry's friend but he doesn't need you right now." Vlad was just finding everything that was going on in this room to be a bit suspicious. He looked his Professor in the eye and pulled him in. He was so caught up he didn't even notice the other Professors walking in.

"I know you're not Professor Alastor Moody. Who are you, why are you here, and where is the real Professor Moody? Don't try to lie, it won't work." The Professors stared at Vlad. He was clearly controlling the man, getting him to tell the truth. The only spell they could think of to get these kind of results was the Imperious Curse, and that's highly illegal.

"My name is Bartemous Crouch Junior. I was placed here by the Dark Lord Voldemort to deliver Harry Potter to him so he may be resurrected. The real Professor Moody is in the box by the desk." Once he had finished speaking he started to turn back into Bartemous Crouch Jnr. and was soon after taken away by Professor Flitwick to keep him locked up somewhere until he was taken away to Azkaban.

"Mr Dracula, what you have done today was an extraordinary feet. However, as far aw we can tell, what you did was very illegal." Professor Snape drew close to Vlad and looked down at him.

"You obviously were somewhat suspicious of him Professor, otherwise you wouldn't be here. What would you have done to get the truth out of him?" Vlad asked almost curious as to see what a Wizard would do differently.

"I would have made him drink Veritaserum." The man replied still looking down at the boy.

"If I remember correctly, Veritaserum is illegal as well unless administered with consent which I doubt you would have gotten. So really, there isn't much difference between what I did and what you would have done. Besides, how can what I did be illegal, you know out of everyone here that I wasn't using some banned spell." Vlad groaned with realisation.

"Dad is going to be so proud of me. This is the worst day _ever_ , if he finds out this happened he'll never stop talking about it! And he'd never let me come back to Hogwarts! Not after a _freaking_ Dark Lord was resurrected. 'Oh no! You can't go back to there Vladdy, we have to keep you safe.' And then we'll have to move again. Probably to somewhere we wouldn't see people all that often, like Russia. No, we couldn't move there, Dad has too many Russian enemies. I'll have to hope he doesn't go crazy again and suggest moving to Australia, that wouldn't do anyone a favour. And what if-" Vlad was cut off by Snape.

"Mr Dracula, you appear to be rambling. It's more annoying than Miss Granger." Vlad mumbled and apology. He and Harry were then escorted to their respective Common Rooms by their respective House Heads.

ooo

Over the last week since the last task Vlad has been experiencing severe gum pain. His first impulse was to go to the hospital wing, all Madam Pomfrey was able to establish was that he had some new teeth growing through… What…!?

He knew what that meant, that meant his fangs were coming in. He was only just about to turn fifteen in a few months, most vampire don't actually get them until they turn. Some, on a very rare occasion develop them a little earlier, but the chance of that happening to Vlad is like one in a million. The worst part about his fangs coming through was that his appetite started growing and he was becoming much more inclined to go for a rare piece of meat than a nice green salad.

It was Saturday when his fangs came fully through. At every turn he all he saw were arteries and veins pumping blood through necks. It was exhausting just trying to keep his fangs at bay when he could smell the blood, let alone when it was one of the prettier girls walking past. He had to keep his mouth clamped shut and try to get out of any conversation with anyone. All he really wanted to do was write to his dad asking for help, but he couldn't do that. He'd be pulled out of Hogwarts before he could even send the letter.

ooo

"Hey Vlad! We haven't seen you in a while, do you mind if we sit with you for the ride?" Hermione, Harry and Ron walk into Vlad's compartment.

"Not at all." Vlad said quickly, trying to keep his mouth as closed as possible. It was only a few hours until he would be back home where he could freely learn to control his hunger.

"Is everything alright? You haven't really been talking to anyone since the last task. Did something bad happen? Was it Barty Junior?" Hermione was of course the one to notice something was wrong. The all sat down, Hermione next to Vlad and Harry and Ron opposite.

"I'm fine." Everyone in the room, including the ever naive Ron, knew that it was a lie. But right now Vlad just doesn't care, right now he's trying his hardest to keep his fangs from popping out to say hello.

When the train finally came to a stop, everyone in the compartment was relieved. It was the most awkward trip Vlad had ever been through, and it was all his fault. Why could he never be normal? First, he's not a normal kid. Second, he's not even a normal vampire. And now third, he's not a normal wizard. Couldn't his life just pick one path and stick to it?

Vlad stumbled out of the tiny train door and walked over to his tutor.

"Antoinette, get me out of here. Now!" He whispered urgently. Antoinette knew this was not a light situation, and did as he said.

"What happened Vlad?" Antoinette asked when they were back in Stokely, walking towards home.

"The worst possible thing that could happen to an underage vampire trying to hide his heritage in a magical school." Antoinette just looked at him, she had no clue as to what he was talking about. "My fangs came through!" He whisper shouted.

Antoinette looked around the street to make sure no one was there to here them. "Vlad, we need to get you home. _Now_!"

ooo

 **Vlas = Waltz in Romanian**

 **Tangou = Tango in Romanian**


	11. Friends?

"Run, Ingrid… Slayers… Run!" Vlad sat up just a little too quickly and hit his head on his coffin before he could open it. "…ow. I've got to stop doing that."

He'd just woken up from a strange nightmare of Ingrid running away from slayers. Vlad knew that it couldn't actually have happened though. Ingrid was still safely tucked away in Stokely Castle.

Over the three weeks he had been at home for the holidays Vlad had developed more of his Vampire traits. He could now use his super-speed, and he was much more in control over his Vampiric fire. The hunger still got to him on occasion, not that living in a place that, during the school year, was packed with humans helped. He, like many vampires, has developed a sharp nose. Not in the physical sense, but rather in the way that he has a very good sense of smell. Because of this, the smell of breathers was both the best thing he's ever smelt and the worst. They really need to smell like the blood that's in them to be be easier to tolerate. Unfortunately, along with all the Vampiric powers he was coming into, he was also developing their intolerances too. He couldn't eat garlic, or stand in the sun anymore. It was a sad moment for Vlad, to realise he can't go for walks around the grounds at Hogwarts in the day time anymore. He'd have to stick to night time visits.

He got dressed, made his way to the Dining Room, and was met with his father, "Good morning, Your Highness. I trust the Chosen One slept well?"

"Give it a rest, Dad." Vlad heard it every morning when he woke up. How could his father think that doing this every day for three weeks wouldn't be annoying?

"I don't care what you do during the day, but at night you should be hunting with me. Two bats out looking for blood."

"There's no way I'm ever turning into a bat. It's disgusting, it's not natural." Vlad glared back at his dad. Nothing ever changes around here, it's always the same.

"There is no greater feeling than soaring high above the earth. The wind under your wings, the moon on your back."

"You're a flying rodent, what's fun about that?" It's always the same arguments, then the same counter-arguments.

"It's not about fun. It's about training you to be Grand High Vampire. Next year, when you come of age, you need to be ready." The Count turned back to the news paper he'd been holding, when a frown came over his face.

"What's wrong? Coffin prices gone up?" Vlad scoffed, it was the most likely thing his father would be frowning about.

"Stokely Castle has been burnt to the ground." Vlad's eyes grew wide, this was possibly worse than coffin prices!

 _'_ _Dracula residence, Stokely Castle, was burnt to the ground yesterday. There are unconfirmed reports that the eldest daughter, Ingrid Dracula, perished in the blaze.'_

"I had a dream Ingrid was being chased by slayers…"

"Yes, I've had that one before. Looks like our dreams came true."

"How can you joke about that?" Vlad said, becoming angry.

"She left you for dead and me locked in a UV cage. If the battery hadn't run out we'd both be a pile of ashes by now!" Vlad turned and stormed off to his room.

Could Ingrid really be dead? The paper did say unconfirmed, and maybe the dream he had was trying to tell him something? Vlad could only hope.

ooo

Renfield came in and tried to offer him breakfast. The Count was having none of it and came into Vlad's bedroom to tell Renfield all about the Vampires he'd forgotten. Unfortunately, like every other day, Renfield fainted at the idea and forgot everything once again.

When Renfield had left, the Count offered him a 'proper' breakfast, and pulled out blood bags from his pocket. "Take your pick. I have all the blood types a growing boy needs."

Even when contained in a bag the smell of the blood leaked through. Vlad had to take a second to take control over his urge to bite straight into the bag. "Not bats, no blood. I'm going to lead a normal life."

"We bought this school, in the middle of nowhere, so we could hide from an army of slayers trying to kill us Vladimir! What is normal about that?"

ooo

Vlad was taking a walk inside the empty school. The likeliness of actually seeing anyone was very low. The only people here on a daily basis was him, the Count and Renfield. Occasionally the Headmistress, Ms McAuley, was on campus but that only happened around once a week.

Vlad was stepping down the stairs when he suddenly felt like he was falling. He landed in the middle of a wood, he saw Ingrid again being chased by slayers. She had to get to the other side of a clearing in the middle of the day. Seeing that she was having trouble standing, it's obvious to Vlad that it's a risky idea. But she does it anyway.

She only just makes it across when the slayers grab her and push her into a tree. "Where is he? Where's your brother?"

"And all this time I thought you were interested in me." Ingrid croaked. Was she ill?

"Where's the Chosen One." The other slayer asked. Ingrid managed to trick them and run in the opposite direction. Vlad felt someone grip his shoulder and a face appeared in front of him.

"Vlad? Vlad, are you alright?" It was Ms McAuley. What was she doing here today? She came in yesterday. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I-I'm ok, Ms McAuley. Just a bit dazed."

"What happened?"

"I tripped, on my shoe-laces. I'm always forgetting to tie them up." Vlad played off easily. He really had been in Slytherin for too long.

"Okay. Well, just be more careful next time." She turned to continue to wherever she was going, but then turned back when she remembered something. "Is your dad in Vlad? I have some thing I need to talk to him about, concerning the new science block."

"Yeah, he's upstairs. Probably still reading the paper." Vlad smiled to her as they parted ways. "Have a good day, Ms McAuley."

ooo

By the time Vlad had returned from his walk he had made up his mind. He was going to get his dad, they would go to Stokely and look for Ingrid. She was alive, and it wasn't a dream he had this morning. It was a vision.

"Dad, get up! We're going to Stokely to find Ingrid." Vlad banged his fist on his fathers coffin, then opened the lid.

"I'm not sifting through a burnt castle to save a pile of ashes."

"She's alive, I saw her in a vision." At this the Count sat up in a second.

"You had a vision?" He asked, a proud tone edging into his voice.

"I sort of blacked out, and I saw her being chased by slayers. It was like I was there."

With that the Count got all excited. Well, excited for the Count anyway. "Right! We need to beef up your training, see what else you can do!"

"This isn't about me! This is about Ingrid, she needs our help!" Why was he always like this? Why couldn't Ingrid be the favourite child? It would have made life so much easier for everyone.

"She turned her back on us! She wanted to make the streets of Stokely run red with blood, and now it will. With hers." The Count lay back down, signalling that this was the end of the discussion. Vlad wasn't finished yet though, he had to try one last tactic.

"We can't just stand by and do nothing! Everyone deserves a second chance. Mum treats you like dirt, but you still keep taking her back."

"That's different." He argued, still laying in the coffin.

"How?"

"We're not lifting a fang to help Ingrid. This conversation is over." Waving Vlad goodbye and closing his eyes, preparing to shut the lid.

"Fine! I don't need your help. I'll save Ingrid on my own."

The Count opened his eyes to whisper, "Over my dead body." And shut the coffin.

ooo

Vlad had attempted to run away to help his sister after having another vision. He was unfortunately stopped by Ms McAuley. Telling him that whatever was going on, running away wasn't the answer. Vlad had no idea what she was on about, but figured that if he went anyway she would tell his dad and then he wouldn't be able to help Ingrid. So, he went back to his room to wait till nighttime.

When darkness came around, Vlad stood at his window with Zoltan. "I can do this."

"So stop talking and start flapping." Zoltan replied, they had been standing their for a while, Vlad trying to convince himself he could do it. He closed his eyes and concentrated on what a bat looked like. Soon he was flapping off into the night. Zoltan shouting after him. "Don't stop flapping!"

ooo

Ingrid and Erin, the girl who had saved her from the slayers, were sitting in the car trying to restart the engine.

"Who sold you this piece of junk?" Ingrid asked getting frustrated.

"My brother." Erin said defensively. She tried the engine again, only this time it worked. The headlights came to life lighting up someone just in front of the car. Erin screamed.

"Talking of brothers, that's mine." Ingrid got out of the car to confront him. They circled each other, and Ingrid glared at him.

"You got old." She remarked.

"You got sick."

"I can look after myself." She retorted.

"Oh yeah? So why'd you leave Stokely?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"I got bored."

"You got burned."

She scoffed, "So that's what this is, you're here to gloat."

"I'm here to take you home."

She laughed, "I think it's a bit late to be playing happy families. Don't you?"

"We can protect you from the slayers."

"I can handle them." She flashed her fangs and hissed at him, "And I'm not afraid to use them," She sized him up. "On anyone."

Vlad stepped toward her and used the underlying deep voice and stated, "You'll loose." and flashed his own fangs, eyes turned black and he created a ring of fire around them.

"Now your just showing off."

Vlad made the fire, fangs vanish and eyes return to normal. "Come home Ingrid!" He was begging now. She was sick, she needed medical help that they could offer, "We miss you."

"We?"

"Deep down, he loves you."

"No he doesn't. He never has and never will."

"Give him another chance, he'll prove you wrong."

"Bye Vlad, stay out of trouble. I guess that's what you're best at." Ingrid turned to go back to the car.

In the distance Vlad could here someone talking."Tracking beacon's five hundred meters ahead. Let's hope her brother takes the bait."

"Slayers are coming."

"You're paranoid. Relax, we lost them." Ingrid turned her head to look at him.

"They put a tracking device on you." He reached around her and picked off a small metal device.

"How did that get there?"

"They're looking for me. They must have known I'd try to find you."

"I'm the bait? Well don't I feel special." Ingrid started to keel over, like she was going to vomit.

"You are special, you're my sister." She only got worse, she was almost wheezing.

Erin got out of the car, "Let me help."

"It's okay, I've got it. Open the door." They got Ingrid inside and Vlad gave Erin an important job, "Take her to Garside Grange School, I'll meet you there."

"You're not coming with us?"

"I'm going to throw them off the sent." Vlad flew off to where the slayers were. He flew around the van, and beat it several times to give them a good scare. Then he looked through the wind screen and yelled at them.

" _Leave my family alone_!" He growled at them and flew off back to Garside.

ooo

Vlad, Ingrid and Erin stumbled through the door into the living room.

"Well, well, well. Look what the bat dragged in." The Count said, in a way that could only be described as a purr. "I told you not to bring her here."

"Nice to see you too, dad." Ingrid sneered.

"Leave her alone, she's sick." Vlad stepped toward the Count.

"Then I'll put her out of her misery."

"You lay a fang on-"

"Silence!" The Count shouted and lightning flashed.

"You can't tell me what to do anymore."

"You think you can defy me? I am your father. Don't _ever_ forget that!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Bite me." The Count turned away from him. "I'm sorry. I had to save her! She's family."

"She's trouble."

"She's not deaf, you know. I didn't want to come here." Ingrid said from her crouched position, trying to stay on her feet.

"Which makes two of us, which reminds me. How is my castle?"

"I told you this was a bad idea."

"You're staying, at least until you get better. Right dad?" The Count turned around not saying a thing.

ooo

It had taken almost a week, but Ingrid was already well on her way to being better. Erin had left as soon as Ingrid started getting better, she seemed almost too eager to leave. Vlad thought it was strange, but let it slide. After all, he'd probably never see her again.

The day after Ingrid had arrived Vlad received his letter telling him that he had been accepted to come back to Hogwarts. However the Count had a different plan for Vlad's school year. He would stay at Garside and train with Antoinette.

Antoinette and Vlad were just about to start their tutor session for the week, but Vlad had more pressing matters on his mind. "Antoinette, you have to help me. I have to get back to Hogwarts for the year. I want the best shot I can at using magic properly."

"Your father wishes for you to stay here Vlad, there's nothing I can do about that."

"You can help sneak me out! Please Antoinette, you're my only hope of seeing my friends again." Vlad pleaded.

"Friends?" She scoffed, "As far as you've told me, you don't have any friends there."

"I do so have friends! Luna has been my friend since we talked in the hospital wing. And last year I made friends with Daphne, Hermione, Harry and Ron." He stated with an annoyed look on his face.

"Yet none of those friends have invited you to visit over the holidays? They haven't sent you so much as a letter."

"Please, I really need your help. I can't trust anyone else here."

ooo

 _Dear Vlad,_

 _Harry, Hermione and I are staying at Harry's godfathers house for the rest in the summer with my family and some family friends. My mum told me to ask if you would like to come and visit for a week or so? It's okay if you're busy, just let us know within the day and meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley._

 _See you,_

 _Ron W._

"Dad!" Vlad called out from his room where a tiny owl had dropped a letter from Ron.

"What in the name of blood and garlic is it, Vladimir?" The Count entered the room with annoyed expression, he'd just come home from a hunt and was ready to go to sleep.

"A friend from school asked if I wanted to go to his house for a week of the holidays. Can I go?"

"No. Vladdy, there are slayers out for our blood, there is no way you're leaving this house." And with that, he left the room.

ooo

"Antoinette, our plan has to be moved forward to tomorrow. I got a letter from Ron asking if I want to stay with him and his family for a bit. I'll reply saying yes, and you can help me get there." She sighed but accepted.

ooo

 _Hey Ron,_

 _I'd love to come and stay. I can meet you there tomorrow evening at about 7 o'clock. I know it's late, but I can't get there any other time._

 _See you soon,_

 _Vlad_

Ron read over the letter he'd received in reply from Vlad. "Mum! Vlad's coming tomorrow, I need to get to the Leaky Cauldron by seven in the evening!"

"Don't tell me Ronald! Tell your father." Mrs Weasley shouted back to her son.

ooo

It was clear to Vlad that Antoinette was frustrated with him. He knew why, it was because he's arranged to meet Ron at seven. Being summer, at seven o'clock it was only just starting to get darker. Meaning, they could still be burnt alive if they weren't careful.

They had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron with about a minute to spare. He saw Ron standing by the fire, "Hey Ron!" He called and his still fairly new friend turned and smiled at him.

"Hey Vlad. Is this your mum?" Vlad saw he was talking about Antoinette, he laughed. It wasn't an outrageous assumption, she had ridiculously pale skin just like Vlad, and she had the same dark green / blue eyes. But that's where the similarities end.

"No, Ron this is my tutor Antoinette Knight. Antoinette, this is Ron Weasley."

She smiled and put her hand out to shake his, he took it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Weasley. I trust you and your family will take good care of Vladimir?"

"Of course we will, my mum's the best carer ever!" He grinned back at them.

"I'll be leaving now Vladimir. Make sure to keep up with your homework. I also took the time to send a reply to Hogwarts, garlic knows he wouldn't send it himself even if he wanted you to go back." She whispered to him, though Ron had a confused expression on his face, making Vlad think he may have heard what she had said.

"Come on Vlad, we better get a move on or we'll miss dinner!" They left via the floo, which Vlad had never used before but thought was quite ingenious.

ooo

Once Vlad had put his bags upstairs and officially met everyone who was staying in the house, they started dinner.

"So Vlad, you transferred to Hogwarts for third year, right? Where'd you go before that?" This was Sirius Black. Vlad remembered the night when he had helped to keep him alive by diverting Professor Lupin, but he didn't expect to see him here. He is still a fugitive.

"Well, before my family moved to the UK we lived in Transylvania. Because of the location, there was no real way for any magical school to take notice of me. Then, once we moved to Stokely, it was already too late for me to start at Hogwarts because the school was already underway. So my Dad sent me and my sister to the local muggle school for the year. After that I got my Hogwarts letter and my Dad hired a tutor so I wouldn't be left behind." Vlad said, then moving back to his meal.

"And what is it, dear, that you wish to do after school?" This time it was Mrs Weasley. Though she told him to call her Molly it just felt a bit strange to do so.

"Honestly, I've never really thought about it. I know what my Dad expects me to do. He wants me to become the new head of the family as soon as I'm of age, and then all he will expect of me then is to protect said family. Well, that's unless a family member leaves the rest for dead. He makes exceptions for that." Vlad noticed the strange looks he was getting, so he explain in the vaguest way he could.

"Just before the start of fourth year my sister was a bit distraught by her boyfriend dying that she went a little crazy and left my father and I to die. Luckily we were able to escape but it was a close call." To be honest, they just looked more confused.

ooo

Vlad had enjoyed the week and a half of staying at Grimmauld Place, he got to meet so many amazing and hilarious people. Ron's brothers Fred and George were great and so much fun to prank with. He to talk Sirius Black, he learnt who 'He who must not be named' was. Clearly no one thought it was important enough to tell him about who "He" was, even when the man had just come back from the dead. He talked with him about his time at Hogwarts and the experiences he had. But most helpful of all, Vlad and Sirius talked about family expectations, how draining it all was and the best way to deal with it until you can get away from it all. It was also kind of awkward when Remus showed up, they just kind of looked at each other and turned away. There was a silent agreement of everyone else present not to bring it up.

Vlad, Ron, Harry and Hermione were all settling down in a compartment in the Hogwarts Express. Harry apparently was getting nightmares about the night of the last task, he didn't blame him. Vlad probably wouldn't want to leave the house if someone he'd become friends with died in front of him by the man who killed his parents.

"Hey Vlad, I didn't bring this up before because I thought you might not want to talk about it with everyone else around." Ron said quietly from the opposite side of the compartment from Vlad.

"Yeah, what is it?" What could Ron have to ask that he would be uncomfortable with talking about in front of people he didn't really know? Oh wait, you could probably make a very long list.

"When I came to get you from Diagon Alley I heard your tutor whisper to you. She said something about your Dad not wanting you to come back to Hogwarts this year?" He asked, it was supposed to be a statement, but Ron wasn't 100% sure if he had heard correctly.

"Umm… Yeah, that's true. He didn't want me coming back this year. I don't think he even knows that I'm coming back. He would rather I stayed at home and trained with Antoinette. He trusts her, he doesn't trust or even know any of the teachers here. For all he knows I could be learning about mindless twaddle. So yeah, he wanted me to stay home this year." Vlad looked out at the platform as the train began to move away from it. This was the first time he hadn't been dropped off by Antoinette, it was strange. He'd gotten so used to her, yet he knew basically nothing about her. He knew her name, that she was a Vampire, she knew a lot bout wizards, and she knew his father quite well. There was surely a lot more than that to his tutor.

ooo

The Hogwarts Express had arrived at Hogsmeade Station and everyone, minus the first years, got into the carriages. As Vlad, Ron and Hermione were getting into one with Luna, Harry stopped.

"Harry, is everything okay?" Hermione asked, clearly as confused as the rest of us as to why he had stopped.

"The carriages, they're not normally being pulled along are they?"

"What are you talking about Harry, they're pulling themselves like always." Hermione was really worrying for her friends, Vlad just wasn't sure why. He had no idea what Hermione was talking about, there had always been those horse like winged creatures pulling the carriages.

"I can see them too. Don't worry, you're just as sane as I am." Luna replied. Vlad was confused, why can only some of them see these things? What had changed with Harry that he could see them now too?

ooo

When they population of Hogwarts, first years included, had settled down at their tables, Dumbledore's welcome speech had been said, and the yearly warnings of banned things and places had been given, the students were finally allowed to tuck into their food. Vlad was sitting at the Slytherin table talking idly with Daphne. They told each other about their holidays, what they liked, what they disliked. What their parents had tried to make them do, for Vlad that was to not come back to Hogwarts, for Daphne that was to sign a betrothal contract for her and Draco's marriage. She 'politely' refused. Unfortunately, his family and her's were rather insitent. Apparently he'd much rather be engaged to Daphne than her pretentious little sister Astoria.

He couldn't even begin to imagine what life married to Malfoy would be like. By the way he treats everybody else in his life, Vlad found it quite easy to say that he would never treat Daphne the way she ought to be treated.

They were in the middle of discussing the probability of Daphne's parents forcing her into a different marriage with someone more awful than Malfoy. This time she wouldn't have the option of shifting it over to her sister. If it were the case she might even regret not taking Malfoy, at least they were almost friends.

They were laughing at the idea of someone being more of an arse than Draco Malfoy when the doors burst open. Everyone stopped talking to see who was walking in. Vlad's smile dropped and he moved his head to his hands. "No no no no no…" If he kept looking away maybe they'd disappear. This was, unfortunately, not the case.

Vlad heard the footsteps make their way up to the head table, then stop. "I'm looking for my son."


	12. Awkward Meetings

_"_ _I'm looking for my son."_ To say the least, almost everyone in the room was confused, who the hell was this guy? Especially at the flash of lightning, there hadn't been a storm until the man walked in.

Vlad stood up from his seat with a heavy sigh. "Was the lightning really necessary Dad? And why'd you have to bring Ingrid?"

"Believe me, I'd rather be anywhere else." She sneered.

"Mr Dracula is-" Professor Dumbledore was cut off.

"Count. It's Count Dracula."

"Sorry, Count Dracula. Is there a specific reason for your abrupt visit?" Dumbledore spoke calmly.

"Yes, I'm taking my son home." He said turning toward Vlad.

"You can't do that Dad. I need to stay here, I have friends here!" Vlad was trying his best to not shout at his dad, but he was wearing thin at this point. He hadn't expected him to actually come to pull him out.

"Friends?" The Count laughed. "You'd rather stay with the smelly Breathers than your own kind? You're coming home, whether you like it or not. You don't need anymore of this magic training, Vladimir. You need to come home to prepare to be who you're destined to become!"

"Why do you have to take me away from the first place I really feel like I belong? Every time I make friends you move me away from them. For once in your life can you do something for someone other than yourself?"

"I am the Prince of Darkness and your father, you will obey me!" His eyes flash red, lightning cracked, and Vlad could see his fangs peeking out through his vicious sneer. "Our world is in chaos, we need our leader. The Council can only do so much without you. Besides, you don't belong here, you never have! You've learnt what you can, now come home Vladimir." The Count was almost begging, which Vlad knew he would never do unless his life was in danger.

"Dad, is the Council threatening you again?" Vlad asked quietly, even if they were the Count wouldn't react well to it being said out loud.

"How dare you suggest such a thing in my presence! No one dares threaten me!" He bared his fangs now. Causing the staff, and most of the fifth years and up, to raise their wands at him. He swore he heard a small 'yes! I knew it' coming from the Gryffindor table.

"How dare I? How dare I?!" Vlad scoffed. "You barge in here demanding I come home. I refuse, so you flash the fangs and ruin _everything_! And you say how dare I?"

Vlad walked around the table until he was standing opposite his dad, glaring at him. "Vladimir, don't even think of challenging me. I am your father, you could never win to me!"

More lightning flashed, causing the younger years, that weren't already frozen with fear, to scream.

"Come on, Dad. We both know that I could take you down if I was on my death bed." Vlad's eyes turned black, being sure to keep his fangs hidden, he created a ring of fire around them and he spoke in his deep booming voice. "You may be my father, but I am the Chosen One."

At his declaration many face turned from worry or fear to confusion. The Chosen One? Isn't Harry Potter the Chosen One?

"For the love of Blood and Garlic! You two better stop this stupid pissing contest right now, or I'lll stake you both myself." Ingrid sneered from her place near the door, but neither were listening.

"You are my son and Heir, Vladimir! Until you turn 18 I'm your regent, which means you have to do. As. I. Say!" The Count was really starting to get angry.

Vlad was getting frustrated, he was just repeating himself now. "This is my home now, Dad. It's not like I ever fit in with you and Ingrid. You're both evil and good at it, and I couldn't be evil if I tried, I can be mean on occasion but not evil."

"Vladimir! You are the Chosen One, the most evil of us there is!" The Count was really gripping at straws, even he knew that.

"Oh yeah, because I'm the son of the mighty 'Prince of Darkness', I couldn't possibly be anything less than evil. How many time have I heard _that_ before?"

"Vladimir, you will come home _now_! This conversation is over!" The Count still had his fangs out and he was clearly ready to use them, on anyone. Vlad knew if he couldn't make his Dad leave now there would be blood spilt, and he couldn't let that happen.

"No, Dad! I won't, because now matter how hard I try I will never, ever, belong with you!" Vlad knew he was crossing the line, but he had gone too far now. He had become too overwhelmed and his fangs slipped out without him noticing.

"Leave, both of you." When they didn't Vlad used the most commanding voice he had, as Vampires they had to obey what he said. " _NOW_!"

With his family gone, Vlad turned to sit back at his table. He noticed all the strange looks he was getting. "What?" Vlad asked, but as he said the words, he felt them. His fangs, the whole of Hogwarts knew his secret now.

ooo

Panicking, Vlad used his super-speed to get as far away from the Great Hall as he could. The Astronomy Tower, his happy place.

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit." He chanted as he paced along the railing of the tower. "They're going to kick me out for sure!"

Taking a moment to calm himself down, Vlad sat with his legs dangling over the other side of the railing. _They can't kick me out if they can't find me_ , Vlad thought resolutely, _at least for now anyway_. With a long, deep sigh, he looked out over the school and the the land beyond. Spotting the full moon shining down on him, Vlad though of the only person he could talk to about this. He was definitely still upset with him, even after over a year had passed, but he was the only one who would understand…

So with a weight in his heart, he summoned his stationary and wrote to Remus Lupin.

ooo

After the letter was sent, Vlad made his way down to the dungeons as slowly as possible. He refused to meet anyone's eye as he walked through the Common Room, but kept his head high. There was no way Vlad would let them think he was out of place here. No. He belonged here just as much as any of them! And with that thought he ignored the whispers and climbed the stairs to his dormitory.

Upon entering, Vlad was met with a slap of deja vu to his brain. All his dorm-mates were sitting on their beds, and had turned to look at him. It was exactly like that time when he'd been sneaking out after curfew.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a real dungeon bat." Malfoy sniggered at him. Angry, that after all he'd been through tonight, the git still had the audacity to insult him, Vlad sped up to Malfoy. Grabbed him by his shirtfront, and slammed him into the wall next to his bed.

Without noticing, Vlad's eyes had turned red and his fangs and dropped down. "Wanna say that again Malfoy?" Without waiting for a reply, Vlad let go of him and turned toward his bed.

"Wait!" Zabini called out when Vlad was about to open the hangings around his bed to go to sleep. "Can we ask you some questions about what happened tonight? If you don't mind, that is."

Vlad groaned internally, "Make it quick."

Everyone gathered around Vlad, making sure they'd be able to hear every piece of information. Not really paying attention who was asking what, Vlad answered their questions.

"So you're a Vampire?"

"As the fangs would suggest, yes."

"So that's how you knew all that stuff back in third year?"

"Obviously."

"What does blood taste like?"

"I don't know, I drink a soy-substitute."

"How fast can you run?"

"I've never tested it, but very fast."

"Is it because you're a Vampire that the Veelas didn't affect you?"

"I assume so."

"How do you get it up? Wait, can you get it up?"

"Yes, and I'm _not_ answering the first question."

"Is Vladimir Dracula your real name?"

"Yes, what kind of question is that?"

"The fuck is the 'Prince of Darkness'?"

"It's my Dad's title. It's been passed down for generations, along with being Count Dracula and the Head of the Dracula clan."

"But surely you're not _that_ dangerous."

"I could be, if I wanted to."

"What did your father mean when he called you the 'Chosen One'?"

Vlad looked up at them at this, should he answer that? Probably not, it's not like it would hold much merit with them anyway. "It's nothing you have to worry about."

ooo

The next day was tough for Vlad, everyone was staring and looking at him like he was about to drain them dry. Not that he hadn't gotten used to the stares after the rumours that had been spread around, although being a Vampire didn't really help anyone think he wasn't evil. Throughout the day Vlad had been consciously trying to avoid Hermione. He knew pretty much exactly what she was going to say to him, and he really didn't want to hear it right now. However, she managed to catch him with his guard down when he was studying in the Library. At first she just sat next to him quietly, she seemed to want him to talk first. He'd humour her.

"If you want to say something to me Hermione, you'd better just say it." He hadn't intended to sound so grumpy with her.

"No need to be titchy Vlad." Hermione huffed. "I just wanted to know why you lied to me when I confronted you in third year."

Vlad had tor try his hardest not to yell at her. "You have no idea what it's like Hermione! All my life the only thing I've ever wanted is to fit in. When I was younger I was always the weird Vampire child who liked the Breathers, I was too nice to be to fit in, let alone be a good heir for the Dracula clan! When we moved to Wales and I attended muggle school I was the freak who lived in the castle and my only friends were an outcast named Robin who dressed like a Vampire all year round, and his little sister Chloe. Then when I came to Hogwarts I tried _so hard_ to fit in, but clearly that didn't work out either. Everyone's terrified of me and I just want to be normal for once in my life…" Through his speech his head ended up in hands to hide the tears in his eyes.

Hermione let out an audible sigh, "Actually Vlad, I do know what it's like."

Vlad looked up at her from his hands. "What?"

"It probably hasn't come up before because everyone at school already knows. I'm a Muggleborn." Lifting her chin, she continued. "When I was a kid I was also an outcast. I overachieved, I still do, but it didn't go down very well with my peers. When I got my Hogwarts letter I thought I'd finally found why I didn't belong with the kids I'd grown up with. Lets just say it was like a punch in the face when I got here and found out I was a second class citizen. Which only made me more determined to do the best I could, but as you can see, there are some students, and even some of the Professors, who really don't appreciate it. Not that I've ever been ashamed of who I am, and you shouldn't be either."

Vlad smiled weakly at her, "Thanks, that makes me feel a little less alone in this whole situation."

She smiled back, "You're very welcome, Vlad."

ooo

As expected, the stares and the whispers didn't stop, if anything they got worse as more rumours started popping up. Everything from, "I saw him staring at so and so's neck" to "He's going to kill us all". But as time progressed Vlad became less and less concerned with what people thought of him, and more and more concerned about their new Defence Professor. The woman was incompetent! Luckily for Vlad his tutoring had been thorough enough that he knew he'd still do well in the OWLs at the end of the year, it was the other students he was worried about.

So when Hermione invited Vlad to come along to a meeting she, Harry and Ron were holding at the Hogshead that weekend to address the issue, he decided to come along and see if he could help out. It wasn't until he got there that he realised he was the only Slytherin in attendance.

Honestly, he should've seen it coming. It's not like the three hosting the meeting got along with any other Slytherins, even if they did those Slytherins wouldn't have been stupid enough to A) go without back up and B) be seen publicly with a group of non-Slytherins. And yeah, Vlad didn't really care about following the unspoken rules of Slytherin, but he would have if he'd stopped for even a second to think about how awkward the situation would be.

Upon arriving, Vlad noticed he was late. A glance at his watch told him 10 minutes late, in fact. Hermione had probably just assumed he said he'd go to be polite and started without him. The meeting was clearly already tense before he opened the door, but he can't imagine having the resident Vampire walk in was really helping.

"—You might as well clear out now."

Everyone's eyes turned to him. "What the hell is a Slytherin doing here?" Someone called out.

"Yeah! Come to rat us out to Umbridge?" Called another.

Vlad frowned at them and their presumptuous comments. "No, actually I'm here for the meeting. I was invited."

Whispers of confused "who invited him"'s filled the room, until Hermione spoke up.

"I invited him. He's my friend." Sufficiently shutting up their jabbering. For now anyway.

And with that, the meeting continued. People recounted times of Harry's heroics, and Harry was modest about all of it. Putting it down to luck. Vlad reckoned with luck like that he could walk into a room full of Vampires and none of them would even flash their fangs at him. Harry went on to explain to the group that what happened to him wasn't this amazing adventure like they'd made it out to be, it was terrifying. That if he had made a mistake out there, he wouldn't be able to go back tomorrow and try again. It wasn't like school.

"When you're a second away from being murdered, or watching a friend die right before your very eyes… You don't know what that's like." He said solemnly, looking down at his feet.

"You're right Harry we don't, that's why we need your help. If we're going to have any chance of beating… Voldemort." Hermione stated firmly, addressing both the true motive behind the meeting and her support for him.

"He's really back?" A small boy Vlad recognised as a Gryffindor asked. Harry only nodded.

For some reason, something in Vlad stirred during the speech. Harry wasn't the only person to go through traumatic shit.

"I do." He commented without context. Everyone looked at him again. "I know what it's like… To be seconds from death, watching people die."

Ever the curious Ravenclaw, Michael Corner asked, "What happened?"

Hermione quickly intervened, "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to Vlad. It's ok."

"No it's fine, I don't mind people knowing. It's not really much after what happened at the Welcome Feast, after all." With a sigh, Vlad delved into his story. Although it was very brief.

"In the Summer after my first year at Hogwarts, my sister tried to kill me." There were gasps of horror. "It's more complicated than that though. There was a lot going on at the time, her boyfriend had just died among other things. But nevertheless, she left my Dad locked in a UV cage to watch the sunrise, and me passed out at his feet."

Seeing as most of everyone had been either had learned at least the basics about Vampires, they all understood what Vlad was saying. "Is he ok?" One of the younger students asked with a whimper.

"Physically, yeah, he's fine. But I mean, you all saw him during the feast… He's livid." There was a long pause. Yes, everyone remembered that argument clearly.

"Anyway, this meeting isn't about me. I just wanted to let you know, Harry, that there are others in the same boat."

He heard Harry mutter something along the lines of, "At least you don't have a whole population relying on you to fix their problems…"

Vlad could only smirk at that and mumble, "You have no idea."


	13. Staying With Snape

_Dear Vlad,_

 _I have to say I was surprised to receive your letter, and the reason I've taken so long to reply is that every time a sat down to write you out some advice it all felt wrong coming from me. During my time at Hogwarts I had a tight-knit group of friends and by the time they found out about my condition we were already inseparable. I can't imagine what this must be like for you, going through this with next to no support system. And no, one friend does not count as a support system. On top of having close friends, my secret was never revealed publicly until I finished my one year of teaching at Hogwarts, so those who weren't friends had no idea._

 _The only advice real I can give you is to stick to what you've been doing. Keep focusing on your school work and don't let anyone tell you that you don't belong there because of what you are._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Remus Lupin_

Well that was extremely and surprisingly unhelpful. If there was one thing Vlad didn't want to do right now, it was school work.

ooo

It had been a while since Harry's "study group" started. They called themselves Dumbledore's Army, though Vlad thought tying the Headmaster into the group was a bad idea. Suffice to say, they didn't listen to him. Regular meetings were held in the Come and Go Room, also known as Room of Requirement. Vlad didn't attend many meetings, usually only when he figured he could help out with the topic, when his Housemates weren't around and he could sneak away unnoticed. One of the times he did actually show up, he regretted instantly.

Upon walking into the Room, Vlad could already tell something was off. Everyone was positioned at the edges of the room, but they were all facing a chest. He'd forgotten to find out what they'd be covering earlier in the week, that being his reason for turning up today. And as usual he was late and had missed the explanation of the day's lesson.

"What's going on?" Everyone was weirdly silent. Harry moved in front of him.

"We're doing a sort of experiment…" He paused. "Comparing our fears back in third year to now."

A frown overtook Vlad's face, "What? Why?"

Harry sighed, "It was Hermione's idea. Something about getting us more psychologically in tune with ourselves."

Vlad stared him down, "Well I won't be participating."

"And we're not—" Harry started to reply before Hermione cut him off.

"Come on Vlad! If you face your worst fear here in a safe environment it's going to better prepare you for when the war comes."

"I don't know if you've noticed Hermione, but this isn't _my_ war to fight. I have my own at home. I didn't join this group because I had to, I came here to help but this has nothing to do with me. So I don't need you telling me to face my fears, I face them every day already. I'm done here, just leave me alone, okay?"

As he turned to leave Hermione called out to him, "Vlad wait!"

" _I said leave me alone!_ " Vlad's voice boomed as he glared down at her, eyes black, fangs out.

She gasped and took an involuntary step backward. It hadn't really sunk in for Hermione that Vlad could potentially pose a threat to her, or anyone really. He was always so kind, looking out for other people. It hadn't even crossed her mind that, given the right circumstances, he might be dangerous.

Seeing the fear in her eyes Vlad sped out of the room. He found a small alcove in some dusty corridor and slid down to the floor with his head in his hands.

"What have I done?" Vlad whispered to himself. His mind answered for him. He'd shown one of his only friends who he truly was and she'd been frightened. And rightly so.

He only had Luna left now, and other than at the occasional DA meeting he barely saw her anymore. He had no one in Slytherin, they all saw him for who he was in the Welcome Feast at the start of the year. A Monster. Yes, they'd been curious, but he'd been nothing more than a novelty. Which, like all novelties, wore thin quickly. And he certainly couldn't go home, he had too much of his Father's pride for that.

He was finally all alone, and it was entirely his fault.

ooo

Not too long after Vlad had left, Umbridge was finally able to find them. From what he'd heard, it was thanks to Marietta Edgecombe. The whole group had been given detention, Vlad had seen what happens to kids who have detention with Umbridge. And though he wasn't fully aware of Wizarding law, he was certain it can't have been legal. The woman was clearly abusing her position to get away with it. It was something Vlad was uncomfortably used to.

All too quickly the school year was about to come to a close. He _really_ didn't want to go home. Not really sure what his options were, Vlad made a snap decision to talk to the Headmaster about it.

He also quickly realised that in his three years at Hogwarts, he'd never been to Professor Dumbledore's office and hadn't the foggiest on how to get there. So he searched for McGonagall to ask for directions. Luckily, she was happy to help and didn't ask questions. Presumably she knew Dumbledore would likely tell her anyway.

So at last, he was knocking on the Headmaster's door. It opened seemingly of its own accord to reveal the Professor sitting behind his desk looking through some papers.

"Come in, Mr Dracula. Please, take a seat." Vlad was gestured toward the comfortable looking chair in front of the large desk.

Sitting down, Vlad addressed the Headmaster, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir, but I seem to have found myself in a bit of a dilemma."

"Nonsense, students can come to me at any time they feel the need. Now, what is this dilemma, hmm?" He questioned over his half-moon spectacles.

"Well you see, I don't have anywhere to go once term concludes. As I'm sure you remember, I got into a bad argument with my Dad at the start of term. I–I'm worried that if I go back home he won't let me return, come September. I just, I don't know what to do and I figured you might be able to help me." Vlad looked at the man, hope evident in his eyes.

Dumbledore smiled at him, "I am sure something can be arranged. I could never deny a student their education, and as I have a duty of care, I couldn't possibly let said student return to a clearly abusive environment."

Vlad wasn't sure if it was the smile or his tone of voice, but it was clear to him that Dumbledore knew perfectly well that Vlad could handle himself if his Father was abusive, though the man didn't even question his reasoning.

"So what we you going to do, Sir?"

"I think I know someone who, with the right persuasion, will be willing to help. I'll summon him now." The Professor conjured his Patronus and sent a quick 'come to my office, it's important' to whomever was on the receiving end.

After only a few moments of silence the fireplace roared a brilliant green, and out came an annoyed looking Professor Snape. Vlad's eyes widened, he would be staying with Snape?! Even after being in Slytherin for three years, he wasn't sure what to think of this development.

Eyeing Vlad, Severus spoke to the Headmaster. "What was so important, Albus, that it couldn't wait until morning? And what, exactly, does it have to do with Mr Dracula?"

With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore replied. "It has come to my attention that Vladimir's home life is not a safe environment to a growing child and as such Mr Dracula has no place to spend the summer. I've summoned you here to request that you take him in until the start of term in September."

Snape scoffed, "Absolutely not! Albus, you know how dangerous that could be given my current… _situation_. Not only that, what exactly do you expect me to feed the boy? I don't just have cartons of blood lying around the house! And, must I remind you, we both know the boy is perfectly capable of looking after himself."

There was a long pause, the silence was almost sickening. Vlad could tell there was something going on here that he didn't understand, but he had to try his best to get the Professor to let him stay. He didn't think he had much of a choice.

"Professor, I don't know what your situation is, nor why it would be dangerous. But if it helps… I don't drink blood." Both of the men in the room looked at him strangely. Deciding he needed to explain more, Vlad continued. "I drink a soy substitute. I have a subscription that gets delivered every month, it's usually enough to get me through without too much struggle. And yes, I know that after my display at the Welcome Feast, it might appear like I can handle myself against my Father. But until I'm 18 he can still tell me what to do, I fear that if I go home he'd demand I not return to Hogwarts, and according to Vampiric law I have to obey him. Please… Professor, I don't know who else can help me."

Snape looked at him for a long moment, as if weighing up his options. "Fine. But there will be rules, and if you break them I'll deliver you home myself."

Dumbledore grinned at that. "Well now that that's sorted, let's work out travel plans for the end of the week."

ooo

The last week of term passed quickly. He'd finished all his OWL exams and came out feeling pretty good about them. It had been decided that Vlad would ride the train back to London with the students, Professor Snape would meet him outside King's Cross at the bus stop on York Way and from there they would head to the Professor's house.

For the most part, the train ride was silent. Dragging on for what felt like an eternity. Luna wasn't sitting with him this time, he'd seen her sitting with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny as he passed their compartment. Vlad felt a small pang of sadness in his heart at the sight. Since they first met they'd always sat together on the train.

Was she scared of him too? Or was it to do with the battle that whole compartment was involved in at the Ministry of Magic? The one he read about in the paper one of his Housemates had left in the Great Hall, the one where it was officially confirmed that Voldemort had returned. Or was she just moving on from him? Finding new friends? Friends that she knew for certain wouldn't try to eat her.

For a single moment Vlad wondered why he didn't feel angry, or betrayed. It didn't take him long to realise it was because he knew he didn't deserve her friendship. If anything, _she_ should be angry and feeling betrayed by him, because they were close enough friends that he should have told her what he was. He knew he should have. And no matter the excuse he came up with in his mind, it was never enough to truly justify it. _He_ had driven her away. Not the other way around.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his compartment door sliding open. Looking up, Vlad saw his dorm mates. They all moved inside and took the seats around him.

Looking out the window, Vlad addressed them. "I'd rather be alone, if you don't mind." He wasn't in the mood for an argument, especially not with these pompous gits.

"Too bad, Dracula." He heard Malfoy sneer. "We came to talk to you."

Malfoy waited for Vlad to reply, after realising he wasn't going to, Malfoy continued. "I received a letter from my Father this morning. He seemed very determined that you receive this."

Malfoy handed over a black envelope with his name on it, "It's an invitation to our annual Lughnasadh Festival. All the details are inside."

"If that's all Malfoy, I'd prefer if you and your groupies left."

With a sneer Malfoy stood to leave, though was taken aback when his friends didn't follow suit. "Are you lot coming or not?" He demanded petulantly.

It was Nott who answered, "I don't know about the rest, but I'd like to ask Dracula some more questions, now that I've had time to think about what I'd like to know. It's not every day you have a Vampire around to talk about what's missing from our textbooks." The others merely nodded in agreement, they wanted to ask questions too.

With a groan, Malfoy sat back down. "Fine."

So they asked away. At first it was simple questions, like 'Does it hurt when your fangs come out?' and 'Why do Vampires sleep in coffins?'. However, as the conversation progressed the questions became harder.

"What's Vampire society like? Is it very different to Wizarding Society?"

The question actually made him smile, if only for the fact it made him think of Antoinette and everything she taught him. Momentarily, he wondered how she was doing.

"They're quite similar actually." Vlad answered. "The system of hierarchy is almost identical, just with different names for things. At the top are the Nobles, these are Vampiric families dating back to the first records of Vampires. Like Purebloods, the longer the family line, the higher status they hold. Vampires who were turned by another rather than born a Vampire are in the second rank, like Halfbloods. They're called Half-fangs. A Vampire may choose to keep their Half-fangs as servants, and the Half-fang is compelled to do as ordered by their sire. These Half-fangs have a slightly higher rank than normal Half-fangs. Though not by much.

"The third rank is human servants. They're usually manipulated using hypnosis to be completely subservient. Though you do get a few who choose servitude in the hopes that their master may turn them. The fourth rank is just every day, normal Breathers. Sorry, Humans." There were a few nuances Vlad left out to keep it simple for them. Also, he really didn't want to go into the Vampire High Council, the Grand High Vampire, or that he's the Vampiric version of Harry Potter.

"Where do Wizards stand in all that?" Nott asked.

"It changes depending who you ask, really. If you ask my Father, or any other elitist Noble, you just sit at the top of the humans. But there are others who believe, because of the power a Wizard can wield, you're above the Half-fangs."

The next question threw him off. He didn't think anyone even remembered what happened that night.

"Hey Dracula, what was with the shouting match between you and Professor Lupin back in third year?" Malfoy asked, finally speaking up. "Didn't he say something about your mother?"

It took Vlad a moment to answer, he couldn't keep the sneer out of his voice. "They know each other. My mother is the classic example of what every Vampiress in high society wishes to be. A conniving, evil, manipulative, psychotic bitch. She and my Father are two most in love people I've ever seen, but only when it suits hers. The rest of the time they hate each other."

He laughed at the absurdity of what he was about to say, "She ran away with a Werewolf! As humans, you probably don't understand why that's so funny. For as long as anyone can remember, Werewolves and Vampires have always been enemies. No matter the conflict between Vampire Clans or Werewolf Packs, they will always unite with their blood brothers to defeat the other. So when I say my Vampiress mother ran away with a Werewolf, let's just say it was a scandal and a half, the biggest in centuries. It also happens that the Werewolf she ran off with is Professor Lupin's brother, Patrick."

The boys in his compartment looked shocked, what was the likelihood of that?!

"Not only that, but when I wrote to my mother to ask about it she told me that my Father and Professor Lupin had despised each other for years. The worst part about that was the fact that I had trusted Lupin enough to tell him my secret, he even helped me work through a lot of personal problems that year." Vlad paused momentarily. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all this…"

The compartment was quiet for a long moment that seemed to stretch on forever. It seemed the others found it as unbearable as he did, as Zabini asked, "What exactly _did_ your Boggart turn into that year?"

Vlad wasn't entirely sure how to answer that questions, how much should he tell them? He scoffed internally at that, he should have thought about that before he went on a rant about his Mother and Professor Lupin. At this point he might as well just tell them everything.

"My Boggart turned into me, as a full Vampire. When you're born a Vampire you're basically human until you turn 16. If you manage to manifest any of your Vampiric magic before then, it's basically a tell-tale sign that you'll be very powerful. Most get one or two specific powers popping up around a year before they're 16, a few more might start appearing as that year progresses. When you turn 16, you get your fangs and your powers all set in, though there's usually a surge in power when you turn 18. Along with getting your powers, usually the Vampire in question either becomes evil, or just more evil than they already were. So essentially, my Boggart was an evil me with full powers. The brother my sister wouldn't be embarrassed of, the son my Mother would stick around for, and the son my Father would be proud of…"

It didn't take long for the boys to put two and two together. "But Vlad," Nott spoke up. "You're not 16 yet and you've got fangs."

He hadn't really wanted to get into this, but he was too far gone at this point. "Yeah, so my powers started showing up when I was about 11 or 12. My Dad was teaching me about hypnosis, guiding me through the process, when I accidentally ended up hypnotising him when he tried it on me. From there, a few more popped up more and more often. I was just about to turn 13 when my Hogwarts letter arrived. At first I thought it was a joke. But I soon found out that to be invited to study with Wizards, as a Vampire child, is a huge honour, because usually by the time a Vampire has enough power to even pass as a Wizard, they're at least 16 and unlikely to be accepted so late in their schooling. So basically, I'm just super powerful. Which is highly ironic, because for most of my life I didn't even want to be a Vampire!"

It was then that the train started to slow down as it approached the station. "We better go collect our trunks." Malfoy said as he stood up, followed by the others.

Vlad took the few minutes it took for the train to stop as a mental reprieve. Soon he would meet Professor Snape and he would take him to his house.

ooo

Upon arriving at their agreed meeting place, Vlad nearly didn't recognise his Head of House. The man didn't seem so intimidating in muggle clothing, and therefore, not himself.

"Hello Professor." Vlad greeted.

"Mr Dracula." Snape paused in greeting. "Follow me."

Vlad took back his statement. As soon as the man opened his mouth, he was just as intimidating.

Following closely, Snape lead him down a dingy alley. "Take my arm, Mr Dracula."

Doing as he was told, Vlad was quickly overwhelmed by the sensation of being pulled through a minuscule straw. Once out the other end, he felt rather queasy but managed to control his stomach long enough that he didn't vomit everywhere. Snape quickly pulled him inside what he assumed was the Professor's house. The place was dimly lit and rather dull, it almost reminded him of home.

The Professor showed him around the small house. As expected, there was a kitchen, lounge room, study/library, dining room, a guest bathroom Vlad was instructed to use, and the guest bedroom he would be staying in. He was briefly shown the door of the master bedroom, but soon told he was never to enter without permission, and was never to ask unless it was an emergency.

"Would you like some tea, Mr Dracula." The Professor asked, obviously trying to be polite, but soon realised his mistake and corrected himself accordingly. "Or would you rather your 'soy blood'?"

"Actually," Vlad replied. "Some tea would be lovely."

The two walked back to the kitchen and Vlad sat at the breakfast table as Snape made the tea. It wasn't until they were both sitting with the piping hot liquid in front of them, the Professor spoke again.

"As I said last week, there will be rules you must abide by during your stay here. As we discussed earlier, the first is that you do not enter my bedroom. Second, if I have guests you will stay in your room unless you're called upon. Third, you must _never_ leave the house unless you're accompanied by myself or someone I have approved. Do you understand me, Mr Dracula?" Vlad thought about the rules, they all seemed reasonable considering he was staying in the man's house without much forewarning, and they seemed easy enough to follow.

"One-hundred percent, Professor. Although, I think that because we'll be living in the same house all summer that you can probably call me Vlad. Don't you agree?"

The Professor looked him dead in the eye. "No, I most certainly do not. However, if you insist upon a level of familiarity, I will call you Vladimir. I despise nicknames. In return you may call me Severus, but only ever in the privacy of this house and when there is no one else in the building. In times such as that, you will refer to me as Professor, or Sir. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, Severus." Vlad said with a smile.

Severus glared at him, "Don't make me regret taking you in, boy."


	14. Severus Has a Son?

**If you read the last chapter within an hour of it being posted, there have been some minor changes to it. Basically, in the old version, Malfoy knew Vlad was staying with Snape and now he doesn't.**

ooo

For the past week that Vlad had been living with Professor Snape the thing that surprised him most was how many visitors the man received. When he'd told Vlad the rule about staying in his room if anyone came around, he'd assumed it was a 'just in case' sort of rule. He was once again reminded that he really ought to stop assuming things, at this rate it would soon prove fatal!

For the most part Severus' visitors were limited to Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, though never at the same time. Or sometimes other members of the group he stayed with momentarily at Grimmauld Place last year. However, on the odd occasion, Vlad was ushered from the lounge just before he could see who stepped out of the fireplace. He was almost certain that these visits were the same person, though he couldn't be certain. From his room all he could hear were muffled voiced.

The strangest visit came during his second week at Spinners End. Severus was upstairs in his study when Vlad heard a knock at the door. No one ever came to the door. He waited for a moment, expecting to hear the Professor's movement to answer the door. Upon hearing nothing, Vlad went to open the door himself.

He opened the door to two confused looking ladies, one with wild black hair and the other with neat blonde hair. Both barely visible underneath their hooded coats shielding them from the bucketing rain.

"Can I help you?" Vlad asked. The blonde woman spoke first.

"This is the residence of Professor Severus Snape, is it not?" She asked in return with a frown.

"It is."

The other woman spoke up then, "I wasn't aware Severus had a son!" She laughed wickedly, as if the very idea was just too absurd.

Vlad straightened up at her statement. That's why they were confused? Because they thought he was Severus' kid? He supposed he had the hair colour and complexion. But as far as Vlad could tell, that's where the similarities ended.

Forgetting to correct the woman's mistake, he suddenly remembered he was making them stand in the rain far longer than necessary and invited them in. "Please, come in. I'll fetch the Professor for you Ms…"

He opened the door further and gestured for them to come in.

"Narcissa Malfoy." The blonde woman replied, "And this is my sister, Bellatrix Lestrange."

As Vlad lead them to the lounge, quickly tidying up with study material Severus had allowed him to go out and buy for next year, he looked back at the women. "Are you Draco's mother?"

There was an almost smile on her face at the mention of her son, but it was overtaken by a look of sadness in her eyes. "Yes, I am."

Vlad didn't like that, but kept a straight face. "I'll go get the Professor."

As Vlad left, he heard the women exchange hushed words. "Do you really think he's Severus' son, Bella? What kind of Father would make their child call them Professor! Don't you think we would have met him before now, Severus is a friend of the family."

Clearly the Lestrange woman disagreed with her sister. "Cissy, come on! All you have to do is look at the boy. He looks just like Severus at his age, minus the hideous nose. He even holds himself with the same unfounded superiority Snape always seemed to possess!"

Ignoring their comments Vlad climbed the stairs, and knocked on Severus' study door. Without a reply the door opened. Professor Snape sitting behind the desk, placing his wand back down.

"What is so important, Vladimir, that you had to interrupt me in my study?" The man's black eyes starring Vlad down.

"Visitor's came to the door, Severus. When it was clear you hadn't heard, I thought it rude to make them wait… Did I do something wrong?" Vlad asked with wide eyes. He really didn't want the Professor to kick him out! Where would he go?

With a sigh Severus shook his head. A visitor at the door couldn't have been too important. "No Vladimir, you're fine. Who was it?"

Vlad looked down at his feet. "A Mrs Malfoy, and a Mrs Lestrange. They're in the lounge waiting for you."

Standing up quickly, Severus walked toward the door trying to hide his panic. They knew Vladimir was staying with him. Before now the only people who knew were the few order members who bothered to meet with him.

"Vladimir, go to your room and do not come out, _under any circumstances_ , until I tell you. Okay?"

The look on his face told Vlad that man was deadly serious. He nodded in reply. Forgetting entirely about telling the Professor about the women's assumptions.

ooo

Descending the stairs, Severus kept an eye on Vlad, making sure he actually went to his room. Once he heard the satisfactory click of the door locking back into place, he continued to the lounge. He addressed both women as he swept through the door.

"Narcissa, Bellatrix." He bowed his head just enough to be polite, but not too much that it seemed like an actual bow. "How may I help you?"

Stumbling ever so slightly at her words Narcissa replied, "Severus, I-I know I'm not to be here… The Dark Lord himself forbade me to speak of it…"

"If the Dark Lord has forbidden it, you're not to speak." The Professor turned his gaze to Bellatrix as she poked around the things on his shelf. His glare was enough for the woman to sulkily place the item she'd picked up back where she found it.

"As it so happens, I am aware of your… situation, Narcissa." He spoke to the woman softly, there was almost a hint of empathy. Almost.

"You? The Dark Lord told _you_?" Bellatrix asked with an incredulous scoff.

Severus smirked slightly at this, "You doubt me Bellatrix. Understandably so, over the years I have played my part well. So well, I managed to deceive one of the greatest Wizards of all time."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and scoffed again, Snape only stared at her. "Scoff all you like, Dumbledore _is_ a great Wizard. Only a fool would question it."

Fed up with the conversation, Bellatrix tried to take it into her own hands. "You should be _honoured_ , Cissy! As should Draco."

Narcissa looked to her hands at her sister's comment, "Please Severus, he's just a boy."

"As it stands Narcissa, I cannot change the Dark Lord's mind. However, it may be possible for me to help Draco. If the circumstances are right."

"Oh Severus—!" She was abruptly cut off by her sister.

"Swear to it." There was a long pause. "Make the Unbreakable Vow."

Egging him on, Bellatrix taunted him. Calling him a coward and a snake, however not in the way admired by fellow Slytherins.

With a sneer he gave in, "Take out your wand."

ooo

For the life of him Vlad wished he knew what was going on down stairs. The flash of panic in the Professor's eyes when he named the women at the door only lasted a millisecond, but it told him something bad was happening.

Even if he tried to eavesdrop with his Vampiric hearing he knew he wouldn't hear anything. It hadn't taken Vlad long to work out that Severus was using some spell to keep him from listening in. He understood why, but it didn't stop him from being frustrated by it.

Trying not to get too annoyed, Vlad distracted himself with his self-prescribed homework.

ooo

After the vow had been made, Severus stood and moved away from Narcissa. Groaning internally. He knew he had been easily goaded into it, and that in itself was infuriating. But he also worried that if he hadn't done it, his Lord would somehow find out and be… Less than pleased that he was unwilling to follow through if the boy proved incapable.

Severus summoned a pot of steaming tea and some cups for them all. Unbreakable Vow's were draining on one's magical core

Bellatrix grinned at him. That was never a good sign. "If you have something to say, Bellatrix, spit it out."

The woman laughed at his annoyance with her. "I was just curious, Severus. Since when did you have a son?"

It was then that the Professor was thankful he hadn't taken a sip of his tea yet. If he had, he would have incidentally sprayed it all over the women in front of him. Instead, the man just paused momentarily. "Excuse me?"

"The boy who opened the door? He's clearly yours, don't even _try_ to deny it! Does the Dark Lord know about him?" She left no room for argument. However, the last thing Severus wanted was the Dark Lord inadvertently finding out he had a 'son' that he'd kept secret from his Lord. That would mean bad news for him and the boy.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Bellatrix. But the boy isn't mine." He stated calmly.

She only grew frustrated, "Then how do explain him being in your house! And the fact that he looks like you from school, with a smaller nose!"

Disliking the fact that he would have to disclose Vladimir's identity to the women, and that they would no doubt tell anyone who would listen. Well, Bellatrix would anyway. "He is merely a student, Bellatrix. The Headmaster deemed his home life too unstable and abusive for him to go back, as the boy's Head of House, it was decided he would stay with me for the duration of the summer. As for his appearance. Yes, from what I can tell he gets that from his Father, but I am not he. His Father is a wealthy and influential man who goes only by the title… Count Dracula."

Narcissa gasped, though her sister looked confused at her reaction. "You mean _that's_ the boy who Draco told me about? The Vampire?"

"Indeed it is."

ooo

For every day Vlad stayed with Professor Snape dinner had been served at the same time.

8:35

On the dot.

Vlad wasn't entirely sure why the Professor insisted he eat Breather food with him, but he liked the normality so he didn't complain. Honestly, he preferred to drink his soy blood in private, that way he didn't have to endure the judgement in peoples eyes. Here and at Hogwarts.

The odd thing was, he never saw the man go into the kitchen for anything other than tea. He had to be using a spell of some kind, because no matter what had happened during the day, at 8:35 every evening Severus was sitting at the dining table with two plates full of food. The man wouldn't wait for you either. If you missed dinner time and your food went cold that was your own garlic damned problem.

To say that Vlad was surprised when he entered the dinning room and there was no Severus and no dinner, would have been a gross understatement.

Naturally, Vlad looked through the rest of the house. He searched thoroughly through the ground level, and by the time he reached the first floor he was frantic. Had something happened? He even knocked on the door of the study _and_ the master bedroom, to no avail. Where was he? Why hadn't he told Vlad he was leaving? When would he be back?

Calming himself down, Vlad went back to his bedroom to drink some soy blood. Telling himself that the Professor would be back soon. He had to be.


	15. Robes, the Festival, and Dinner

Professor Severus Snape was currently kneeling with his head bowed in the centre of a large ballroom surrounded by men and women. Though it was hard to tell the difference through their masks and identical black robes. At the head of the room was the man who boasted to be the greatest Dark Lord of all time. Whether that was true didn't matter to Severus, all he cared about was that the man was dangerous and had killed men for lesser things than what he was no doubt summoned for.

The Professor was certain that Bellatrix had gone simpering to their master to tattle on him. It was almost as childish as it sounds, the only thing keeping him from laughing at the whole thing was the knowledge that he could easily die tonight.

But then again, that was a possibility every time he was summoned by the Dark Lord.

"Old friend, you may rise."

Doing as he was told, the Professor stood. Though he kept his head bowed.

"I've been informed that you have been babysitting, Severus."

At this, he raised his head to make eye contact and nod. "I have my Lord, he's my student."

"And this student, I'm told, is very powerful." The Dark Lord smirked, like he knew exactly what the outcome of this interaction would be and he'd doing everything in his power to get it.

"Yes my Lord. The child isn't human, he's a Vampire." Severus lowered his head again.

"And why pray tell, Severus, did not tell me the boy was staying with you?" There was annoyance dripping from his every word. He would be in for it, hopefully sooner rather than later.

"It didn't seem important as the time, my Lord. Mr Dracula is only with me because Dumbledore deemed his home life unsafe and I'm his Head of House." He knew he would regret taking Vladimir in, it was only a matter of time.

"Is that right? And when we had meetings in your Library, you didn't think to bring it up?"

"No my Lord."

Snape could hear the grin in his next words. "I wish to meet him, old friend. Make sure he attends Lucius' Lughnasadh festival."

"Yes my Lord."

"Now, as I'm sure you're aware, I must punish you for lying by omission. _Crucio_!"

ooo

It had been just under a week since Severus had stumbled in through the fireplace, covered in blood and bruises. He had collapsed onto the couch by the time Vlad sped into the room. Not knowing any healing spells, he could only try to patch up the Professor using his minimal knowledge in muggle techniques. Severus also refused to tell him what happened, annoying Vlad to seemingly no end.

The only difference between Severus before and Severus now, was that he now seemed pretty persistent in suggesting Vlad go to the festival Malfoy had invited him to. Before he'd even noticed it was July 31st and he had nothing to wear. Being stuck inside the house, he naturally only had one person to ask about the dilemma.

Vlad hesitantly made his way to Severus' office and tapped lightly on the door. Just as it had the last time he was granted entry, the door was opened with magic and the Professor was still at his desk.

"What is it this time, Vladimir?"

"It's about the festival tomorrow," Vlad paused momentarily, embarrassed by what he was about to say. "I haven't got anything to wear. I don't even know what people wear to a festival."

The Professor looked up at him, "If it was any other Lughnasadh festival, I'd tell you to wear brown earthy colours in the style commonly seen in depictions of forest nymphs as it is a celebration of harvest and fertility. However, this is a high society Lughnasadh festival. I recommend you wear formal Wizarding dress robes. The ones you wore for the Yule Ball should suffice."

Vlad nodded, that made sense. Leave it up to aristocracy to take all the fun of dressing up out of a celebration. There was only one problem with the man's suggestion. "Err, Severus… I don't have any Wizarding robes anymore, I grew out of the ones I got for the Ball. The only thing I have is stuff from formal Vampiric celebrations…"

Severus rolled his eyes, "You'll just have to buy some then, won't you. Your family is wealthy enough that it shouldn't be a problem, your Father won't even notice the small dent in his bank account."

Vlad hesitated once again. Still looking at him, the Professor noticed. "Just spit it out Vladimir."

"Well… You see… I spent the last of the money my Father gave me for last year when I bought my new school books this summer. The only way I could get more would be to go home, but my Dad would undoubtedly lock me in a UV cage before I could even reach the vault…"

"Don't look at me like that, boy. I'm not going to buy you expensive robes! You'll just have to go in your Vampiric ones."

Vlad looked at him wide eyed. No. No, no, no. Anything but that! He knew he couldn't really ask the Professor to buy him robes, he also couldn't go in the casual clothing he had with him. So the only real option was to go in his Vampiric robes.

ooo

That night Vlad slept worse than he ever had trying to sleep at night. All he could think about was arriving tomorrow to see everyone in their Wizards robes and laughing at him. Suffice to say that he was far from refreshed when he woke up. In effort to distract his frantic mind, Vlad spent the day studying. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the evening from rolling around.

Vlad stood in his room, looking down at himself in the mirror. If this was an event for Vampires he'd be the most fashionable person in the room, thanks to his Dad forcing him to keep up with trends. But it wasn't for Vampires, it was for wizards. Vlad could see it now, he would stick out like a sore thumb, with his black button up shirt, tailored black pants and jacket with long coattails and high collar, and his black cloak with a crimson lining. With a sigh he made his way down stairs.

Entering the library Vlad saw Severus waiting for him by the fireplace.

"I don't think you're going to stand out _at all_ , Vladimir." The Professor commented with a smirk. Vlad huffed, and they floo-ed to Malfoy Manor.

Upon arrival they were directed around the back of the house to the gardens by what Vlad assumed to be a House Elf. In the gardens there were many people already gathered, most making their way down the path lit up by fairy lights leading the way to a small hill.

Severus leant down to tell him that the festival is traditionally held on a hill, and that it's where the match making ceremony would be taking place.

…wait…

"Did you say _match making_?!" Vlad started to panic. He'd read about old archaic Wizarding rituals that could bind people together for eternity, like marriage but without opportunity for divorce. What if this was like that? And he was forced to be with some girl he'd never met for the rest of his life? He's going to live for a very long time, that's hardly fair!

Noticing the boy's distress the Professor reassured him that the ceremony was optional, but also non-binding. Just when Vlad was about to release a sigh, Severus warned him. "It will, however, be looked down upon if a young bachelor such as yourself, does not participate."

Groaning internally, Vlad was already beginning to wish he hadn't come this evening. Severus made his way up the hill closely followed by the nervous Vampire. The two stood side by side as more people arrived and mingled with other guests. Fortunately, Vlad didn't stick out as much as he'd feared. Though he did get a few odd glances every once in a while. Perhaps they just thought he was the Professor's son too?

Vlad and Severus stood to the side of the crowd. He saw Malfoy and his friends mingling and, surprisingly, laughing with each other.

A man made his way over to them, if this man wasn't Draco Malfoy's father he'd feed himself garlic. He looked exactly how Vlad would picture a middle aged Draco to look like. He was proven correct when the man introduced himself as Lucius Malfoy and informed him he'd heard a lot about him from his son.

After his introduction, Lucius just looked at the two. "My goodness, Narcissa was right. You look as though you could be the boy's father, Severus." With a pause and a playful smirk he continued, "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

The Professor only scowled. "There most certainly is not, Lucius. Do stop perpetuating rumours."

Lucius' smirk only grew at his friends words. "The matching is about to start, will you be joining the ceremony, Vladimir?"

With a slight hesitation Vlad responded honestly, "If it's all the same to you, Sir, I'd prefer not to."

Lucius turned his smirk to the boy, though to him it looked more sinister than before. "What? Pureblooded Witches not enough for a high and mighty Vampire?"

Vlad was shocked, this was _definitely_ Draco's father, and knowing Draco he would have to look aloof and haughtily disinterested to survive this encounter. Improvisation based on truth was required.

Vlad scoffed and looked down his nose at the man with a superior smirk. "Lucius, was it? I don't blame you for not being aware, as Vampiric Law is not something well known in the Wizarding community. Even if Pureblooded Witches _were_ good enough for someone of my standing, I couldn't pursue anything with any of them. As it stands, relations with _Breathers_ is highly illegal."

He added a sneer of disgust when he said 'Breathers' for good measure. Then with a cold laugh, Vlad added, "It's on par with _treason_!"

He could tell Severus knew that wasn't why Vlad didn't wish to participate, but he didn't believe he was lying either.

"Well in that case, Mr Dracula, there's someone I would like to introduce you to. Follow me."

Vlad turned to the Professor, should he go with Lucius? Was it safe? His questions were answered simply by a nod from Severus. Reassured, he followed Lucius back down the hill and into the Manor. From the back entrance of the large building the two made their way deep into the corridors, until they reached what Vlad assumed was Lucius' study.

Mr. Malfoy opened the door and gestured for him to enter the room. Sitting on the couches by the fire was a man. This was clearly the person he was being introduced to, but Vlad was more interested in _why_ he was being introduced. The man turned to look at him, he was stunned by the red eyes he saw. Other than that, he looked like a normal man. Pale complexion, dark brown hair, and other reasonably attractive features. Who was he?

The man stood to greet them. "Ah Lucius, dear friend, I see you've brought the boy. Mr Dracula, isn't it?"

The man extended his hand, Vlad shook it. "Yes Sir, Vladimir Dracula. Just Vlad is fine though."

The man smirked, "Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Vlad frowned, but took the seat anyway.

"My name," The man said once they were all seated and the two men had a tumbler of whiskey each. "Is Lord Voldemort."

He obviously recognised the name, the even flinched a little internally, but years of meeting powerful and evil Vampires seemed to prepare him for this moment. He kept his face blank and his voice bored. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Voldemort smirked, "No I suppose not. I can't imagine a creature, such as yourself, would feel the need to keep up with the intricacies of Wizarding society."

Vlad eyed the man, slightly insulted by his comment, though he knew that was the intention so he tried not to let it show. He smirked right back, "You make me sound like some sort of savage, Sir. I can tell you with confidence, I am not."

"Ah yes, because someone who drinks the blood of others couldn't possibly be a savage." The man's smirk only grew. "I'm not here to insult you or your kind, Vladimir. I was only intrigued when one of my most trustworthy followers informed me of your existence… and your power."

Lucius' eyes moved back and forth between the two, at this point they were just starring at each other.

Vlad sneered, "I could hypnotise you right now, make you do anything I wanted and you'd be powerless to stop it. I could make you tell me your darkest secrets, I could make you slaughter every last one your followers, I could even make you take your own life. That's the kind of power I wield, luckily for you, I choose not to." The man narrowed his eyes at his statement. "I don't even drink real blood."

He saw what could have been a glimpse of annoyance or disappointment in Voldemort's eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Vlad to see. It was quickly replaced by the man's ceaseless smirk.

"Come now, Vladimir. Everyone has a price." He gestured to Lucius, Vlad assumed they had planned for this kind of outcome. They must have talked to Draco about him. Mr Malfoy got up and left the room, only to back soon after with a girl following him. It was Daphne.

Their eyes locked. Voldemort observed the Vampire as his nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. Vlad could smell her blood, hear it racing through her veins. She was terrified. "What is she doing here?"

"If you agree to my terms, she is yours to do as you please. She's O positive, I believe that's quite a favourite amongst Vampires." There was a pause. Vlad knew he couldn't drink from her, but what would happen if he didn't agree? "If you refuse, she'll be given to the loyal follower who brought you to my attention. She really doesn't take good care of her playthings."

Vlad ground his teeth, "What are your terms?"

The smirk reappeared. Garlic, Vlad just wanted to rip it off the man's face!

"It's nothing terrible, let me assure you. You will take my Dark Mark, abide by the same rules as all of my Death Eaters, and most of all, you will help me win this war."

Vlad looked at the floor, "Ok."

Voldemort laughed coldly at the boy's expression, "Dear boy, there's no need to look so down. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. Before you leave, I do have one simple request."

He didn't like the sound of that, he lifted his eyes defiantly. "And that would be?"

"I've never had the pleasure of watching a Vampire turn a human into one of their own kind." His evil grin said it all. He wanted him to turn Daphne.

"I'm assuming that if I don't, our deal is off and she dies anyway?" All he got was a nod.

Vlad walked over Daphne, her eyes wide with fright. He realised there must be a silencing charm keeping her quiet. A wave of his hand disarmed it and he looked her in the eyes.

"This is your choice Daphne." He said solemnly. "You can become next to immortal, forced to kill to survive. Or you can die. I won't make that choice for you, but know that I would never forgive myself if I let you die today. Not when I had the chance to stop it."

All she could do was stare for many moments. How could she make this kind of choice? She didn't want to die…

"Will it hurt?" She croaked.

"Only for a second." Vlad reassured.

"Do it."

Vlad nodded. He closed his eyes, allowing the smell of her blood overwhelm him. His fangs dropped. He pulled the girl to him and moved her head and hair to allow him access to her neck. Vlad's eyes narrowed on their target, he could feel the blood pumping through her. At this point, even if he wanted to, there was no turning back.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and sank his fangs into her flesh.


	16. Initiation and a Proposition

As sharp fangs punctured the main artery in her neck, Daphne let out a strangled cry. Soon, the pain of the bite subsided, she could feel him sucking her life force from her. He held on just a little too tight, but, the more he drained, the harder his grip grew. It quickly became too much to bare.

"Vlad…" She croaked out. "Please… You're hurting me…"

Her voice snapped him back into reality. He'd been so overwhelmed by the taste of the magic in her blood that he'd lost himself. It was like nothing he'd ever tasted, soy blood had nothing on this! As soon as that thought crossed his mind Vlad felt guilt override the amazing feeling of her blood. He'd nearly killed her himself. The whole point of biting her was so she _didn't_ die! Vlad berated himself for being so selfish, even if it was only in the heat of the moment.

He carefully removed his fangs, and made sure he held onto her. She'd lost a lot of blood.

Vlad turned to the two men in the room, "I have to go. Once she starts to turn I can't move her through sunlight."

Without waiting to be dismissed, he picked up Daphne bridal style and sped out of the room to find Severus. He found him still on the hill, the festival in full swing. "Professor, we have to leave."

The man turned to look at his charge and saw the Greengrass girl in his arms with blood dripping from her neck. He nodded.

Vlad sped them both to the gate so Severus could apparate them back to Spinner's End. By the time Vlad was lowering Daphne onto his bed she'd already passed out.

"She needs a blood replenishing potion." The Professor commented from the doorway. Vlad could only nod, he was disgusted with himself. How could inflict this life upon someone else? His friend no less.

Severus turned to make his way to his Laboratory, and motioned for Vlad to follow. He sat and watched the Professor go about his work, it was clear how the man had managed to become a master in the art of potions. His attention to detail. It was this skill that also aided him as a spy.

"Would mind explaining, Vladimir, exactly how Daphne Greengrass came to have a rather deep bite mark on her neck?"

Vlad looked away from the Professor, ashamed. "Voldemort gave me an ultimatum. He said that I could agree to follow him and help him win the war, or Daphne would die."

Snape looked up at the boy, there was guilt clearly written all over his face, his blank mask in pieces letting out all his emotions. Emotions he worked hard to cover up while in the presence of those who would manipulate them. He felt sorry for the boy, but he needed to know everything so he could give Dumbledore accurate information. "That still doesn't tell me why you bit her."

Vlad swallowed the bile accumulating on his tongue. "He said that if I didn't bite her the deal would be off and she'd still die. I really didn't want to, but I gave her the choice. I asked her if she would rather die and she said she wouldn't. Even though she asked me to do it, I don't think she ever would have considered it if she wasn't dragged into that room. So it's all my fault that this happened to her!"

Severus stared at the boy for a moment, there were tears on his face. With a sigh the Professor grabbed a phial and handed in to Vlad. "Drink this."

Vlad did as he was told without even a second thought, as soon as it reached his stomach he was suddenly completely calm. He knew it must have been a calming draught. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"Go watch Miss Greengrass, I'll be up in a minute with the potion." Vlad didn't reply, only walked out. Before he could leave, Severus gave him one last piece of advice. "Vladimir, next time you refer to the man, as his follower, it is expected you call him 'The Dark Lord'."

To which Vlad nodded and continued on his way.

During the short walk to his room all he could think about was how he should have just gone home for the summer. Let his Dad keep him sheltered at home until he was 18. That way nothing like this would have happened. It was all his fault!

Vlad quietly opened his bedroom door, so as to not to disturb Daphne. She needed as much rest as possible. But when he turned to look at his bed, the girl was sitting up looking wide eyed around the room.

"Vlad, what happened to me?" Panic was clear in her voice. Vlad ran to her side and pushed back into a laying position.

"You need to rest, you lost a lot of blood. Professor Snape will be here shortly with a potion to help. I'll explain everything after. Okay?" She nodded and tried to relax a little.

As promised, the Professor arrived quickly to administer the potion. Daphne smiled weakly up at him, "Thank you, Professor." And she gulped it down swiftly.

Colour returned to her cheeks, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Can you tell me what happened now?"

Vlad glanced at the Professor, he didn't know how to say it. "How much do you remember?" Severus stepped in.

Daphne looked around for a moment, trying to recall what she could. "Not much. I was brought into a room just before the matching was about to start, I think it was Mr. Malfoy's office. You were there, Vlad, and some creepy man. I remember Mr. Malfoy had put a silencing charm on me and I remember…"

She paused, then with a gasp she continued. "That man was the Dark Lord wasn't it?"

Both males nodded. "Other than that, I don't really remember. You'll tell me though, right?"

Vlad took a deep breath, he knew Severus wouldn't stand in this time. He had to tell her. "I'm really sorry Daphne. When Mr Malfoy brought you in, the Dark Lord threatened to kill you if I didn't agree to his terms."

She frowned, "Why would he threaten me?"

"I think he may have heard from someone that we were close for a little while during third year. I haven't really had much in the way of friends since then, let alone ones the Dark Lord had easy access to." Vlad determined with a shrug.

Daphne smiled at the memory, "Oh yeah! I remember that, why did we stop hanging out again?"

He looked at his feet, "The same as most people I think, the whole Vampire thing. Speaking of the Vampire thing, there was another condition, on top of his terms, to letting you live."

Daphne frowned again, "What was it?"

"I had to turn you." Her eyes went wide as the memories came flooding back. Him asking her if she'd rather die, her telling him to bite her, the intense pain of the initial bite, and him gripping her tightly before she had passed out.

Daphne took a shaky breath, "What's going to happen to me?" There were tears in her eyes.

"The actual change could take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months, depending on how much your body fights it. Given the fact that you have magic in your blood, I'd wager that it will take at least a month, maybe two. During that time, you should notice some changes in your personality. You might become more aggressive, less caring, and perhaps more confident. It all depends on how your body reacts. Also in this time, your reflection will start to disappear. When it's completely gone the rest of the change should come on in the following day or two." Vlad explained calmly, trying not to freak her out too much.

Once she seemed to have processed the information, he let her know that she could ask him anything she needed about Vampires or their culture. And with that, the two men let her get back to sleep.

ooo

It was only the next morning that Severus told him he would be taking the mark that evening. He was told to dress in all black, but with no robes, he would be presented with Death Eater robes after the ceremony. Vlad spent the day pacing, he hadn't realised he'd have to do this so soon.

Time flew, though not for the presence of fun, and it was finally time to go back to Malfoy Manor.

The Professor left a note for Daphne should she wake up, and apparated them to the gates. Once again they were greeted by a House Elf, only this time they were lead toward the Ballroom.

On the way, Severus briefly told him what to do. "Keep your head high as you walk, show no weakness. When you reach the middle of the room kneel and bow your head, do not rise until instructed. The Dark Lord may ask you some questions, he may not. He will, however, ask you to swear loyalty to him and once you've done so he will ask you to present your arm. Do not present it until he asks for it. The ritual will be painful, no one has ever made it through without at least one cry of severe agony."

 _Well that sounds pleasant_ , Vlad thought sarcastically.

The House Elf opened the double doors for them, as the moved through Vlad saw Severus move off to the side of the room. As he continued forward, he couldn't help but notice all of the people gathered around the perimeter of the space. He hadn't realised Voldemort had so many followers.

Doing as Snape told him, Vlad knelt when he reached the middle of the room. He heard the icy voice of the man he was about to pledge service to. "Vladimir Dracula, you may rise."

The Dark Lord turned to address his followers. "Tonight, we gain a great asset. Tonight we welcome young Mister Dracula into our ranks."

There were cheers from around the room, though Vlad didn't move his eyes away from Voldemort. The man looked different from before. His skin was now pasty rather than just pale, his hair was gone and his nose resembled more of a snake than a man. Though his eyes were still the same piercing red.

"Vladimir," The man addressed. "Do you deem yourself worthy of being a Death Eater?"

Vlad smirked, his cocky mask perfectly in place and expertly covering the frantic thoughts and feelings inside his head. "More than."

Voldemort smirked right back and made eye contact with the boy. Vlad could feel the Dark Lord trying to look inside his mind. It only succeeded in making him angry, just like the hat back when he was being sorted. He sneered at the powerful Wizard.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's _rude_ to pry into someone else's mind without permission? Or is privacy not a common practise amongst your people?" Vlad knew he'd probably overstepped with that comment, especially with the distaste in his voice, but he couldn't take it back now. It'd make him look weak, and put a target on his back.

The man's smirk only grew. "Now, now Vladimir, there is no need for aggression."

This man was going to make him explode with anger! "No need for aggression? Are you serious?" Vlad paused for a moment, restraining himself slightly. "You threaten my friend, force me to serve you, try to look into my mind and yet you still have the _audacity_ to tell me there's 'no need for aggression'!"

As his word grew louder and angrier, Vlad's fangs dropped from his gums and his eyes blackened. "You're lucky I always keep my promises, or you wouldn't be standing. Let's get this over with."

The rest of the evening went by quickly, he made his pledge to the Dark Lord and he took the mark. Severus was right, the thing was painful! But he did manage to get through without making too much noise. When it was done, Vlad looked down at his arm. His once clear porcelain skin was now tainted. Soon it was time for Severus to take him back home.

When they landed in the Library the Professor made his way to the cabinet where he kept his best fire whiskey. Taking out two tumblers, Severus handed him one, the dark liquid sloshing against the edges. "You'll thank me later."

Vlad took the tumbler and sat on the arm chair across from his Head of House. The two stayed silent until they had both set their empty tumblers on the coffee table. "You should get some rest Vladimir, it's been a long night. You can tell Miss Greengrass all about it in the morning.

ooo

In the last month leading to the start of school Daphne wrote to her parents explaining some of the situation and told them she would be staying with Professor Snape and Vlad for the rest of Summer. The two spent time together nearly the whole holiday, reading and studying occasionally, but for most part they talked about Vampirism.

"Wait, so I'll be a full Vampire before you?" She asked with a laugh, just having learnt about born Vampires.

"Only just! I turn sixteen soon. Besides, I'm more powerful now than you'll be when you fully turn."

Daphne looked up at Vlad, "Why's that?"

"As a half-fang you'll never be as powerful as me, being your 'sire'. However, as you're also the first person I've turned as well as the first I've bitten, you'll be more powerful than any other Breather I turn in the future."

She nodded slightly, "I guess that makes sense. How are you so powerful anyway?"

Vlad thought for a moment. Could he tell her about being the Chosen One? Should he tell her about being the Chosen One? She was bound to find out eventually, becoming a Vampire and all.

"Well according to the Vampire High Council and the general consensus of the Vampiric community, it's because I'm their Chosen One. I'm supposed to bring about a new age for Vampires, bring us out of the metaphorical shadows. So basically, I'm the Vampire version of Harry Potter." The last comment made Daphne giggle slightly. It was in that moment he realised that he hadn't heard her laugh before. It suited her.

The laughing stopped for a few days into their time together though. It was when Daphne received a reply from her parents. Vlad hadn't read it but she told him it said that she was a disgrace to their Pureblooded heritage and that they'd finished filing the paper work to have her disowned. On top of that, her betrothal to Draco had been passed down to her sister. Daphne had cried for days, she loved her family and she thought they loved her! How could they do something like this? While she had never been in _love_ with Draco, she'd had a long time to get used to and content with the idea of being his wife. So to have everything she knew turned on its head was not only upsetting, but disorientating.

After giving her some space for a bit they'd spent the rest of the Summer enjoying each other's company, right up until the day Severus dropped them off at King's Cross. They walked through the station, Daphne's arm linked around his. The two smiled at each other, despite the circumstances and the hiccup with Daphne's parents, they'd had a really great month together and became close friends.

They passed through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 and made their way onto the train. Daphne lead him to a part of the train he'd never been to, the whole carriage was full of compartments with Slytherin students. She walked right to the end of the carriage where there were open booths with tables, reminiscent of a dining room on normal passenger trains. They made their way to where her friends – Malfoy, Zabini, Nott, and Parkinson – were sitting.

As they got closer someone else came into view. Primly perched on Draco's lap was a girl Vlad recognised but couldn't put a name to. He heard Daphne take a sharp breath and whisper, "Astoria?"

He recognised the name, it was Daphne's sister. The one Draco was now betrothed to.

Everyone in the booth looked up at the two. Most of them looked indifferent, however, the new couple sneered at them.

"What do you want, _Daphne_?" Disgust evident in her sister's tone.

She was about to speak up, but Vlad stepped in front of her. "Don't you know it's _rude_ to speak with such a tone to your superiors?"

Daphne looked at him nervously, this Vlad was completely different to the one she'd spent the summer with. What happened? Vlad's mask of the Vampire his father wished him to be was back in place, his face was that of boredom with a slight sneer on his lip, like they weren't worth his time.

Malfoy only scoffed, "What're you going to do? Bite me?"

Vlad's mouth turned from a sneer to a smile, though not the kind sort Daphne had grown accustom to over the Summer. " _I_ won't, but I can't say the same for Daphne."

The group looked around at each other, clearly Astoria either hadn't told them or hadn't known at all. Judging by her expression, it was the latter.

"Come on Daph, we don't need to associate with these _Breathers_."

ooo

The group watched as Vlad led Daphne away. It was easy to see what Vlad was implying, but none of them could quite believe it. She was a Vampire now? How on earth had that happened? Well, they knew _how_ , it was more how she had gotten into the position where Vlad had buried his fangs in her neck. Now that they thought about it, her long blonde hair was strategically plaited to the side, most likely covering the bite mark.

Pansy's eyes narrowed on Astoria, "Why didn't you tell us your sister got herself turned into a Vampire? And you Draco, surely you knew too. She was your _betrothed_!"

The two turned to look at each other, like they expected the other to answer first. Eventually Astoria answered. "I didn't know. Honest! Mother and Father just told me she'd crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed, so they'd disowned her, that I was now Draco's betrothed, and I wasn't to talk to her anymore. I just figured she'd got herself knocked up."

Eyes then switched over to Draco, he help his hands up to proclaim innocence. "I didn't know either. I was told merely that she been disowned and that I'd be marrying Astoria instead."

Zabini frowned at that, "How does that work, anyway? How can your parents just _change_ a betrothal contract?"

"The contract never specified a name, probably for situations such as this. It just said the firstborn Greengrass heiress, and because Daphne was disowned that title goes to Astoria." He smirked as he said his next statement, "Preparedness is the key to success and victory."

The rest of the group rolled their eyes at him.

ooo

Vlad had somehow found them an empty compartment, as soon as they entered he'd slumped into the chair as far away from the window as he could get. Vlad knew from experience that the SPF50+ would be wearing out soon and he'd rather not be caught out.

Daphne on the other hand, was pacing like a mad woman. Up and down the compartment she went, muttering to herself the whole time. At least 20 minutes had passed before she came to an abrupt stop in front of him.

"How could you do that to me Vlad?" There was hurt and anger in her eyes, lashing out at him like a laser of guilt that struck him right in the heart. Was she talking about what he said to her sister and friends? Or was she talking about him turning her? Either way, he didn't blame her for feeling that way. "My friends are going to hate me now! What if they never speak to me again? What if I'm alone forever? It's all your fault!"

Even though he knew her words to be true and that he would have the same fears if their roles were reversed, hearing her say them out loud made him angry. He also didn't miss the her subtle suggestion that he wouldn't be sticking around for long. He'd prove her wrong, he'd give her someone she could rely on for the rest of her life.

"Your 'friends' abandoned you the _minute_ they found out you were different. I may not have had many friends throughout my life, but I know that _real_ friends don't do that. And that's exactly why I have a question to ask you." Vlad paused, suddenly incredibly self-conscious and aware of what he was about to say. He'd already come this far, might as well go all the way through with his probably insane decision.

Vlad reached out and held her hands in both of his. He looked her in the eyes, his gaze intense and determined. "Daphne Greengrass. I vow to you, on all that is good and evil, that for as long as I am able I will not abandon you as those who came before me."

Suddenly, he was down on one knee.

"Will you marry me?"


	17. Help From the Professor

No no _no_! How could have he been so stupid? What kind of teenager asks someone to marry them? Certainly not a normal one. And as if she'd say yes! But what if she did? What would he do? Did he _really_ want to get married? His Dad wouldn't be too ecstatic, Daphne being a Half-fang and all, but at least she's not a Breather. Daphne just stared wide eyed at Vlad. She clearly hadn't been expecting it, but then again neither was he. Who proposes _marriage_ on a whim?

 _Someone with the impulsive desire to help and protect everyone they care about_ , Vlad's brain supplied. _Or just a hero complex_ , sneered another which he quickly shoved to the back of his mind.

Just as he was about to stand and awkwardly take his hands from hers, Daphne pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," She whispered shyly, all of her anger dissipating rapidly and a small smirk making itself known. "And how could I say no to a proposal like that?"

Suddenly, both Vampires felt a strange and almost violent pull in their hearts. Daphne's face scrunched in distress, as Vlad felt his breath leave him momentarily and he was struck by how serious he'd made this situation. "What in Merlin's name was that?"

Because of his lack of attention when it came to Vampire studies with is Dad (and even with Antoinette), Vlad would normally only have an idea of what was going on. However, one thing both his Father and Antoinette had heavily stressed was marriage in the Vampire Community. Stumbling slightly over his explanation, he finally replied clearly. "It's… well, um… it's a bond. A marriage bond actually." He paused for a moment, at her horrified expression, when he remembered the differences in their cultures. "Not like a Wizarding marriage bond! The Vampiric equivalent, so no literal 'Till death do us part', or tying us together by magic. But from what I remember, it usually happens during the Blood Tea Ceremony so it's odd that it happened now…"

Daphne's face had gone from a distressed and horrified scrunch to confused scrunch, "What's a Blood Tea Ceremony? Do I even _want_ to know? To be quite frank it sounds scary… and gross."

Vlad let out a small chuckle at that. "It's not that bad, essentially it's like an engagement party. It's the only way to get a Bloodbinding, Vampire version of marriage, recognised by the VHC. If we were to have one my Father would be there, as would yours, and the four of us would sit and share blood from the same cup. From then on a solemn promise has been made and if anyone backs out of the engagement, the entire other clan is honour bound to hunt down and kill the Vampire who backed out." He paused for a second. "Now that I think about it, it might be pretty bad for a Breather and I can't imagine, especially after their reactions, that your parents would be all too thrilled to receive an invite to a Blood Tea Ceremony."

"Yes, I doubt they'd be overjoyed."

"Not to worry though," Vlad grinned. "It's pretty much only used for arranged marriages these days."

ooo

It took several days of heavy research in the Library, and then several more days of trial and error to perfect the execution, but Vlad eventually had a ring to give his fiancé. It still needed a stone to put in the top though, he'd found out that Goblin made wares were very high quality and coveted in the Wizarding World. He also discovered that there was a shop in Diagon Alley where they sold antiques and specialised in Goblin made jewellery. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get there in the middle of the school year.

He was on his way to ask the only person who _might_ give him permission to leave the school. Professor Snape.

So he made the trek from the Library to the Dungeons, taking as many shortcuts as he could remember. The sooner he had this completed the better. After knocking on the foreboding door of his Head of House, Vlad was bid entry.

After a brief glance up from what appeared to be essays he was marking, though having lived with Severus for a time told him it was only charmed to look as such. "How is it you interrupt me every time I'm attending to something important, Vladimir."

Vlad grimaced, "I'm sorry, Sir. As you're my magical guardian, I just came down to ask if I could go to Diagon Alley this afternoon. I have something I need to buy."

"And what, exactly, might this 'thing' be?"

With a blush he looked away from the Professor, "I proposed to Daphne on the train the other day… I've made the band of the engagement ring myself, but I'd like to buy her a stone that holds significance in the Wizarding community. I found a small advert in the Daily Prophet for a antique shop that specialises in Goblin made jewellery, so I thought I might be able to get a gemstone cut by the Goblins from there."

Severus' eyebrow rose as the explanation went on, "You proposed?"

"Yes."

"You're not even an adult."

"In the Wizarding World? No, I'm not an adult. However, in the Vampiric World, you're considered a of age as soon as your fangs come through. Well, enough to marry anyway. And seeing as we're both Vampires, I don't see any problem." Vlad stuck his nose in the air haughtily, though quickly lowering it after a moment. "Can you help me, Sir?"

The Professor gave a sigh, "I won't give you permission, Vladimir. Even if I did the school would only allow you to go to Hogsmeade without a staff member as an escort. For in the Wizarding World, in which you currently reside, you are still a minor."

Severus' words were slow and methodical as to try to get them to sink in properly. Suffice to say it didn't have the desired effect.

"Sir please, It's nearing on a week since I proposed! You and I both know that as a Pureblood she'll consider it a great offence to not receive jewellery as a symbol of our engagement. If she backs out because of that, there will be terrible consequences in the Vampire community." Vlad truly hoped that he could persuade the Professor, if Daphne were to back out of the engagement every Vampire in the VHC would hunt her down for forsaking the Chosen One… "Please help me, Severus."

"I thought I told you not to call me Severus outside of my home." Snape was quick to retort, but Vlad could see in his eyes that he was about to fold. "However, as your magical guardian, it is my duty to guide you to the right decisions and as such I don't believe letting your fiancé to be murdered would be the best option. So, on this one occasion, I shall escort you to Diagon Alley myself."

Vlad grinned at the man's words. "Don't get used to my cooperation, Vladimir."

Still grinning the two floo-ed from Snape's office to the Leaky Cauldron. Vlad coughed and spluttered as he landed in the pub, he inhaled some soot on his way through. The slightest of smirks was visible on the Professor's face, "Still not used to magical travel, I see."

Vlad glared playfully at the man's back when Severus turned to lead him to where they could find the antique store. Just as they were about to step out and into the street Vlad stopped suddenly and called out to the Professor before he could walk to far away.

When Snape turned around expectantly, he saw Vlad in the doorway looking around sheepishly. "Hurry up Vladimir, the stores will start to close soon."

The boy stumbled on his words, "Uh well, you see… I forgot to, you know… Before we came I didn't…"

"Just spit it out Vladimir."

Vlad sighed, "I forgot to put on my sunscreen before we left."

The Professor realised his stupidity immediately, he was trying to get an unprotected Vampire to walk into sunlight. "So what exactly do you expect me to do then Vladimir? The whole point of this trip was so _you_ could pick out a gemstone."

Vlad looked at his feet, "Could you pick one for me?"

Severus clearly hadn't been expecting that answer from him. Vlad continued, "After all, you've known her for longer than I have _and_ you probably have a far greater understanding of what would impress a Pureblood lady and her family."

The Professor gave an exhausted sigh, "I may have known her for longer, Vladimir, but she has always been my student. I haven't even the faintest clue of what she might like."

Vlad gave him a small smile, "It's ok, I trust you Professor."

With that Snape caught the bag of coins (that Dumbledore had given the boy as an allowance) and ring that were flung at him, and his ward turned around to wait inside where he was safe.

ooo

It had taken Severus nearly an hour to choose the gemstones, because nothing the store owner had seemed to match well with the band Vladimir had made. The band was made from white gold and had runes that he couldn't read decorating both the outer side and the inside. Luckily though, the boy had left a plan of what he was looking for written on a small piece of parchment inside the coin bag. He'd specified that he wanted one stone to be the centre piece of the ring and then two smaller matching stones on either side of the larger one.

After a long time searching through the many Goblin cut stones, Snape finally found some that worked. He'd found a 6carat square black diamond in a classic radiant cut, with two small 0.25carat round white diamonds in a brilliant cut. Severus decided that the black diamond would be best, because it not only contrasted well with the band but it also held meaning within Wizarding society. In Pureblood tradition jewellery holding a black diamond is known to enhance relationships and increase inner strength, as well as provide the wearer with clarity and balance. On top of that, the colour black itself is symbolic of authority and power, which he figured was fitting considering how powerful Daphne's fiancé is and no doubt she would be too.

Pleased with his decision, the Professor made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron. As he approached the building he could hear shouting coming from inside. Upon entering Severus saw Vladimir pinned to the wall by a red haired young man and an identical man standing behind them watching on.

"I advise that you let go of my ward, Mr Weasley."

ooo

A/N: Just a quick note, I was re-reading some of the earlier chapters and realised that some of it contradicted what happened in the last chapter. So I've re-uploaded chapter 11, nothing's really changed except a few sentences have been corrected / deleted to make the story actually makes sense.

Also, if anyone's interested in beta-ing this story for me, that would be awesome. Feel free to contact me about it. (If you have any plot ideas that you think would be cool, that's also welcome. I had a plan for the first half of the story, but now I'm just writing what comes to mind as I go along.)

See you for the next chapter!

Steph


	18. Bad Days and Good Evenings

After having left Severus to choose the gemstones for him, Vlad made his way to wait at one of the booths away from the windows. Flicking through the small menu on the table, not really expecting to see anything he might like, Vlad stumbled upon an odd yet appealing sounding meal.

"Shoot!" Vlad mumbled to himself, he'd left all of his allowance from Dumbledore with Snape. Along with this realisation, his stomach rumbled loudly and Vlad remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

Vlad ended up just sitting at the table for a long while considering his options. He could order the food now and pay when Severus got back, though he wasn't sure how the pub worked with that sort of thing, they might ask him to pay before the meal instead of after. Perhaps he could quickly floo back to Hogwarts to get something to eat and rush back once he'd finished. No, Snape could be back at anytime, so that wasn't really a feasible option either. Well, it would seem that for now Vlad would just have to wait.

"Vlad!" Said one voice.

"Is that you?" Said another.

It seemed like the universe was looking out for him today. It had sent him help in the form of two identical Weasleys.

"Fred! George! How are you?" Noticing their outfits he paused, Vlad couldn't help but comment on them. "What's with the get up?"

"Don't know if you noticed from all the way at the Slytherin table…" Said who Vlad was sure was Fred, though he couldn't be certain.

"…But we're not going to Hogwarts anymore." Said George.

Then in unison they exclaimed, "We opened our own joke shop!"

"Speaking of not being at school though," Said George.

"What're you doing at the Leaky Cauldron in the middle of the school year?" Asked Fred.

 _Shoot_ , Vlad hadn't thought he'd see anyone he knew and as such hadn't planned a response. He couldn't tell them he was buying an engagement ring for the impromptu proposal he made, could he? No. He decided that telling a half-truth was the best way to go.

"I just need to pick up something and I got Professor Snape to escort me. But I forgot to bring my sunscreen, you know, because I'm so pale. So the Professor is picking it up for me. He might be a while." As he finished his explanation, Vlad's stomach grumbled once more.

"Hungry mate?" One of the twins asked.

Vlad looked down, "Yeah, I got caught up in the Library and forgot to eat lunch."

"You seem to be forgetting a lot of things today." the two chuckled and sat down on either side of him. "Since you're so hungry, and we're such great guys, we'll just have to buy you lunch."

"No no no! You really don't have to do that, I'll just grab something from the kitchens when I get back to school."

"We insist. What do you like the sound of?"

So Vlad and the twins each chose some food and ended up chatting for a bit, them asking about school and him asking about the shop and how things at the Order were going. But Vlad, being his clumsy self, dipped his sleeve into his food as he reached for his glass of water.

George laughed at him, "You'd think that as a Vampire you wouldn't make such human mistakes! You got your shirt in your food, Vlad."

Vlad looked to the offending sleeve and muttered, "So you heard about that? Can't say I'm too surprised, Hermione was very proud of herself."

"She was indeed," One of them said as Vlad tried to dab off the sauce with a napkin. "But it was Ron who told us."

When Vlad had finished dabbing his sleeve he made a crucial mistake. A mistake that could have been so easily avoided. A mistake that would change the rest of his life in the Wizarding World.

He rolled up his sleeve.

For most people this would not have been an issue. Unfortunately, only a few weeks ago Vlad had taken the Dark Mark and he just happened to be in the presence of two Order of the Phoenix members. All the laughter and smiles at the table died instantly. Vlad realised his mistake and quickly pulled his sleeve back down, but it was too late.

"Is this some kind of joke?" The twin he thought was George asked. He was stuck between them, there was no way out without using his Vampiric speed. So thats what he did, though he couldn't go far because of the sunlight streaming through the windows.

The two stood up and made their way to him. "You sick bastard!" Fred yelled. "We let you into our home, we trusted you!"

Fred ran at him then, Vlad hadn't been expecting it and got caught off guard. The twin pinned him to a wall, a wall splashed in sun. Vlad yelled at him to get off as he started to smoke, but Fred didn't budge until he heard a voice behind him.

"I advise that you let go of my ward, Mr Weasley."

Severus' wand was pointed at the redhead and Fred let go, allowing Vlad to speed-run out of the sun.

"You'd better not target him again, or there will be consequences."

ooo

Back in the safety of the Professor's office, Severus demanded an explanation. Vlad explained how they had come into the pub and ended up talking, then eating lunch and he explained how he got food on himself which resulted in him stupidly rolling up his sleeves and showing them his Dark Mark accidentally.

"As I'm sure you're aware, you can no longer have contact with anyone inside the Order, they will only assume the worst. For now though, here's the gems I bought and your leftover allowance. There's a note inside that will tell you the significance of each stone. Now leave me be, before I hex you for your idiocy."

With a silent nod, Vlad made his way out of the office and back to the Library, reading the small note as he went. His books still where he left them, Vlad finished the final touches on the ring and set the gemstones. And soon enough, it was time for dinner to begin in the Great Hall.

By the time Vlad arrived the whole school was already seated and chatting away. His eyes quickly found Daphne and he made a beeline for her, as he came closer he noticed she was looking upset and no one was talking to her. In the heat moment, Vlad decided he was going to propose to her. Properly this time.

When he arrived behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "Just follow my lead ok."

Vlad saw her nod so he took her hand and lead her to the middle of the room. He left her there momentarily, as some people watched wondering what was going on, he speed to the teachers table. "Professor Dumbledore, I have an announcement I'd like to make. If you could please get everyone's attention, that would be great."

Dumbledore stood up and cast a _sonorous_ charm, "Students and staff, Mr Dracula has an announcement. If you could please give him your undivided attention."

Transferring the charm to Vlad, Dumbledore gestured for him to speak.

"This is just for Daphne, actually. However, I'd like you all to bare witness." He walked swiftly toward her and held her hands, much like he had done on the train.

"I know I've said this before, not even a week ago, but I felt like it was time I did this properly and for everyone to see." Vlad took a deep breath. "Daphne Greengrass, I swear to you that I will protect you, and that I will be kind and loyal. But most of all I swear, on all that is good and evil, to live by your side and to never abandon you for as long as I am able."

Then he bent down one on knee and grabbed the ring from his robe pocket, "Will you marry me, Daphne?"

There were tears in her eyes and a wide smile was briefly visible on her face before she covered it with her hand. "Oh Vlad, you didn't have to do all this. Of course I'll marry you, my answer hasn't changed since five days ago."

He placed the ring on her finger and stood up to capture her lips with his. It was sweet and short.

"Thank you Vlad." She whispered to him when they parted. He then sped them back to where she was sitting, to have a nice dinner together now that they were officially engaged.

ooo

That night the Order of the Phoenix held an emergency meeting. Harry, Ron and Hermione were floo-ed in especially because the topic will impact them the most. The topic was of course Vladimir Dracula.

Dumbledore stood at the head of the table, "We've gathered here today to discuss a recent development discovered by Fred and George, I've been told its quite urgent. Take it away, boys."

Fred and George stood up from their seats, "This afternoon we came across Vladimir Dracula. We'd known of him for the past couple years or so because he was a transfer student at Hogwarts and later revealed to be a Vampire. As such, he's supposed to be incredibly powerful, we're sure Harry, Ron and Hermione can attest for that. In the summer last year Vlad visited our house for about a week, he seemed like a nice kid, if not a little eccentric. So to say we were surprised this afternoon would be an understatement. During our short time together today we managed to see that on his left forearm he was carrying a Dark Mark."

Molly gasped, "What?"

Lupin's face was twisted in confusion, "Are you sure it was certainly Vladimir?"

"100 percent." One of the twins replied.

His frown deepened, "The Vlad I know would never do such a thing. The kid would be afraid of his own reflection, if he had one!"

"That's where you're wrong, Lupin." Snape walked confidently into the room, not bothering to take a seat. Merely standing in front of the doorway. "The Dark Lord forced him into it by threatening one of his friends. The boy is braver than you might think."

Harry piped up, "Who did he threaten?"

Snape rolled his eyes, "Daphne Greengrass."

It was Ron's turn to speak out now, "Greengrass? You mean the girl he proposed to today at dinner?"

Whispers ran rampant around the small room. Things like, ' _Propose?!_ " and ' _How old is he supposed to be again?_ '

Severus sighed in deep frustration. If they could all wait for just a minute without interjecting he would tell them all the details. "Yes, Mister Weasley, that girl."

Hermione looked like she was stuck between happy and really quite angry, "So he's not turned dark then, just blackmailed. Was his proposal a part of the blackmail?"

"No Mis Granger, it wasn't. I'm afraid in this instance, Mister Dracula's bleeding heart merely got the better of him." Snape replied, a slight venomous tone present in his voice. Though Hermione couldn't tell if it was aimed at her or Vlad.

"What does that mean, Severus?" Professor McGonagal asked.

"It means, Minerva, that Vlad was told the girl would die if he didn't turn her into a Vampire. Unfortunately for Miss Greengrass, her parents didn't take kindly to the idea that their firstborn daughter was now a half-breed and disowned her. In result of this fact, her sister and friends were instructed to not make any contact with her. It appears that Vladimir saw how lonely she was and decided to fix it, in the most dramatic way possible."

Molly looked nothing but concerned for the boy, "Surely there's something we can do? At least let him know we've got his back?"

Severus' features softened ever so slightly, "I wish we could, Molly. But for now, the boy is compromised."

He looked directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione then, " _None_ of us can have any contact with him, aside from myself as his Head of House, and 'fellow' Death Eater."

ooo

…Earlier that day…

Today was the day, Daphne had determined, that the universe had decided shit all over her.

Firstly, she had slept in late because she'd been kept awake by her gums aching (hopefully her transformation would be over soon, it was starting to get ridiculous) and the constant sound of everyone _breathing_ and their hearts _beating_ , it was driving her batty! Thus, she completely missed breakfast trying to catch up on sleep, only to find out she had to go _back_ down to the dungeons for potions with Gryffindors. Not only that but, because her reflection had nearly disappeared, her face was a shambles from not being able to see herself properly in the mirror. So when Daphne finally got to class Snape asked why she was late, her only response was the truth, she had woken up late and tried to get to breakfast. At Daphne's reply, she heard snickering from her dorm mates. With her advanced hearing she heard one of them whisper, "Not like she'd need food anyway, probably rather bite someones neck at this point."

Daphne's eyes glowed red and her blood reached boiling point, "What the hell is that supposed to mean Davis?"

She glared down at Tracey Davis like she was the scum of the earth, how dare she say shit like that? She hadn't even completely turned yet, and even so, Vlad lived his whole life without biting anyone! Well, other than her.

Tracey spoke up boldly, "Just that with your new set of teeth I figured breakfast was now what sat at the tables rather than on it."

In a fit of rage, Daphne speed-ran and grabbed the girl by the collar.

"You don't have the _right_ to speak to me like that, _Breather_." And she shoved her back into her seat. The insult came to her surprisingly easily, Daphne'd only even heard Vlad refer to 'normal' people that way once, twice at best. But it definitely made her feel better, if only for a little while.

After her temporary high, things seemed to only head down hill. Rumours began to circulate about Daphne's new form and she started getting a few rather odd looks. A few had appeared intrigued by her, some were clearly concerned she'd bite them, others looked disgusted and the rest were just cautious. Once again she found herself hearing the whispers about her, and to be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure how Vlad did it.

From what Daphne heard, most of the disgusted looks she received were because of a rumour going around that she had jumped into Vlad's bed over the summer and that some kinky Vampire shit had obviously taken place and landing her with a bite on her neck and a new set on canines. She hated the idea that people could instantly believe that she'd become some sort of harlot just because some attractive, exotic guy had come along. It was absurd!

Either way, the whispers had continued even when she was sitting at the Slytherin table casually looking around for any sign of Vlad. After ten minutes of waiting Daphne resigned herself to the idea that he was probably holed up in the library somewhere, not even aware of what time it was.

With a sigh she stared down at her food, everyday it became less and less appetising. At this point she would rather be a fully turned Vampire than stuck halfway between in this infuriating limbo.

As Daphne glared at her food, willing it to look tasty again, she felt arms wrap around her. She knew it was him instantly by the smell of him, that sense was sharper now too. Her face lit up and she felt her what was left of her blood start pumping rapidly around her body.

And then he proposed to her all over again, in front of everyone and in the most romantic way. It was then that Daphne realised that, perhaps, she was falling in love with Vladimir Dracula.


End file.
